OverThinking This
by ForeverIsALongTime
Summary: This pairing was so fascinating when I first read it! I hope you like this story. If you don't like YxYB, don't read.Just a few chapters are rated M because of some violence... *COMPLETE* Yugi and Yami are happily dating...but something gets in the way...
1. Chapter 1

**Over Thinking This**

By

ForeverIsALongTime

*Don't read if you don't like Yugi & Bakura*

**Chapter 1: Living a Happy Life**

Yugi smiled up at his new boyfriend Yami. He could not believe that the dark returned Yugi's feelings of affection. Yugi couldn't help but have a small crush on his darker half, and was glad he wasn't humiliated about the whole situation. It was a nice confession, and very simple.

[flashback]

_Yugi stared at the back of his crush while Yami bent down to retrieve a few boxes. Yugi blushed lightly. Red slowly faded, but his tinged cheeks didn't escape Yami's eyes. Nothing did. This made Yugi blush in embarrassment, even though he knew that the yami couldn't have known that he was just staring at him…_

_ Yugi looked up and saw Yami duck his head. He was staring at Yugi pretty intently. Yugi mentally asked himself, _what was that? _Yugi walked around to the area where all the boxes were filled with new shipments of cards and such. Bending over, he was practically upside down reaching for the tiny box. Yugi frowned. _Where did this come from?

_ Yugi slowly opened the box, and with a little shock, realized there was nothing in it. _Hmmm…_he thought. Right when Yugi hit a standing position, Yami grabbed him and said the words Yugi had been waiting to hear for. It surprised Yugi to say the least._

_ "Do you want to be my boyfriend? I…It doesn't matter if you, you know, don't swing that way or something…" Yugi cracked a smile and asked, "Are you nervous?" The bright red yami nodded silently. Yugi laughed and kissed his dark gently on the cheek before saying, "I would love to be your boyfriend!" Yami swung him around happily, like he won the lottery and Yugi was the signed check._

_ They laughed and kissed._

Two Days Later…

_ Joey looked at Yugi suspiciously. "What's wrong with you today Yugi? I mean, you're always happy, but don't ya think ya takin' it too far? What has ya in such a great mood?"_

_ Yugi laughed pleasantly and said, "It finally happened, Joey! I thought it never would. I thought we would just be friends. Oh, Joey! You know how much I like him! And now we're boyfriends!"_

_ Joey laughed and wrapped his arms around his buddy's head. "Congrats, Yug'! This is so great! Now we are going to _have _to set up a double date! Mai and I, with you and the pharaoh will be so much fun!"_

_ Yugi laughed and agreed, saying he will definitely try to set things up. Joey was happy for his friend, who looked ready to fly to cloud nine._

[end flashback]

Yami walks up to Yugi, smiling happily. "Want to go sit somewhere for lunch together? I know it's not the best sort of date and all, considering we're at school…" Yugi cut him off, "Anytime, anywhere, as long as I'm with you, you will make any date the best date ever." Yami laughed and said, "That was pretty cliché, even for you, Yugi."

Yugi smiled, "Oh, shut up." He grabbed his hand in a tender grasp and pulled him toward the lazy lunch line.

A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_

"Hey, Yami! Joey asked if we could all go on a double date, you know, Mai and Joey, like a big group! What do you think?" Yami smiled at how excited Yugi seemed about double-dating, especially with his best friend, so Yami agreed.

Yugi called Joey up right away. The date was set. Tuesday night at 7 p.m. Four days.

_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_ [page break]

Yugi slept soundly that night. He woke up to see his dark holding him gently under the covers (A/N: This doesn't mean they did anything, just slept lol). Yugi's fingers gently grasped the Millennium Puzzle, fondly remembering how it was always latched to his neck. He almost felt a loss when he didn't wear it that first day.

He knew that Yami was there with the necklace, keeping himself safe, and that was all that mattered. If Yami stayed with the puzzle, he would be able to keep his own body. Yugi needed him, so he didn't mind the small loss of the puzzle around his neck when it meant that Yami could be there, _physically_.

Yugi opened the blinds when he checked the clock. He knew he would be late if he didn't wake up and start early, so he always got ready for school at six a.m. Yami groaned. "Five more minutes…" before tossing back underneath the covers.

Yugi laughed and lightly kissed his new boyfriend on the cheek. Yami shot up. "Now I'm awake!"

A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A

Yugi was walking to his third period class when he heard a thud, and the unmistakable crash of books falling to the floor. Yugi turned around, hoping to help the person behind him. He grabbed a couple of the fallen books and handed them to the culprit who must've tripped. The boy looked up and Yugi gasped.

"Ryou? Is that you?" His tone changed, "How have you been?" Yugi couldn't be happier to see Ryou. It was a while since they last saw each other, which was the day the pharaoh came back from Ancient Egypt. It had been six months.

Yugi sensed that Ryou seemed on edge, so he asked quietly, "Is he back?" They both knew who Yugi was talking about. Ryou shifted his feet from left to right before looking down and whispering in a desperate tone, "I don't know what to do about him anymore…He's too powerful…too strong…gaining power for six months from me…What do I do, Yugi…?"

That's when he saw them.

There were bruises. Fresh ones, dark blotchy purple spots. They covered Ryou's arms, in the shape of fingerprints. Ryou blushed and took his things gently from Yugi, clearly looking like he wanted a pit to open up and swallow him whole. The ring glowed gently, as if it was sending a warning. Yugi quickly handed the books back and said "Bye, Ryou. I'll see you later alright?" Ryou nodded and headed off to his third period class.

Yugi vowed he would see Ryou again. And soon.

A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A

Yugi walked to his locker at school before running into Yami. Yugi sighed, thinking how beautiful and regal the former pharaoh really looked. Yami smiled and waved, "Hey, Yugi!" Yugi sighed and said, "Hi. I have sort of a problem. Will you promise not to worry or interfere if I try to fix the situation? I just ran into an old friend…"

Yami looked at Yugi's troubled face, frowning, "I promise not to interfere, but you sound very upset, so I can't guarantee I won't be worried. Who might this old friend be?" Yugi looked down before whispering, "It was Ryou. I have to see him! Please don't get too overprotective! All he needs right now is some support!" Yami smiled at his pleading hikari. He really did have a pure heart, and only wanted the best for others. Yami sighed and agreed that it would probably be best if it was only Yugi who went. Yugi has faced the dark spirit before, so Yami knew that Yugi could protect himself. There was also their link that was still intact if there was ever a major problem.

Yugi looked down before asking, "Do you think you can shut the link off for a while? I don't want the spirit noticing you around. If he does, who knows what will happen. It might make things worse…I'm sorry." Yugi looked up regretfully up at his yami, but his yami looked on, understanding what he meant and replied. "Please just call me if anything goes wrong, alright?" Yugi smiled and said, "Thank you, Yami!" Yugi looked around and said, "I think I can catch Ryou before he gets home if I run!"

Yami looked at his eager light and grabbed his books and backpack. "I'll take these home for you. It's got to take a load off. Good luck with Ryou! If you need me, just give me a call." Yugi smiled and ran off, looking for Ryou. Yami frowned, hoping this day would end soon.

A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_

Yugi looked around, panting heavily. He was currently standing in an alleyway and did not want to run into any thugs. He ran quickly through the alley to the darker side of the street.

_Which way was his house again? _

It was getting darker outside, at 6 p.m. The streetlights weren't on because they didn't come on until seven. Yugi saw a street name. Thinking it looked familiar, he followed it, only to see no apartment building that looked remotely like Ryou's.

A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_

_I can't leave. I can't leave. I won't give up…_

Yugi felt so weak and tired from all the running he did. He was losing hope finding the apartment. He almost changed directions when a building stood out from the rest.

_Ryou's building! Yes!  
_

Yugi picked up his cell phone and called the former pharaoh. "Hey Yami…Yes, I'm fine…Sorry, it just took me a long time to find his apartment…Yes….Yes….Relax, I'll be back home later. I told you not to worry about me…Okay…No problem. I'll call you through the link when I'm ready to come home…Bye, Yami."

Yugi slowly walked toward the building, as if the former thief was watching him from where he was. Yugi was about to push the button to ring up Ryou's room when he heard a sharp cry in the opposite direction. Yugi couldn't stop himself from launching himself at the sound, hoping nobody was hurt.

A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A

The sound. Familiar. Screaming, but silent, subdued. Pure agony.

Yugi hoped he could make it to the screaming person in time. Before it was too late.

A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A

Ryou looked up slightly. He was in white hot agony. The knife glided over his body, over the old scars. The former thief smiled at the pain he was able to cause. Ryou cried out one last time before he started losing consciousness.

Then he saw a mess of tri-colored hair.

Ryou smiled, watching as the thief left, retracting back into the ring. Yugi gasped in horror, but didn't stop until Ryou was in his arms. Ryou lifted his head, but Yugi whispered in a soothing but jagged voice, "Don't move. Please be alright. We'll be home in a few minutes."

And Yugi didn't lie. But he never lied, and Ryou was glad for that. He felt a soft cushion resting underneath him. He couldn't even register the fact that he was home before he passed out from blood loss.

Everything was black.

A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A

Yugi paced across the room, scared out of his wits. How did Ryou get all of these cuts? They looked fairly shallow, but there were so many of them that they could cause serious blood loss.

Yugi never realized that he forgot to call Yami that night.

He dug around the apartment, looking for some sort of bandage set. Seeing that there wasn't even a first aid kit, Yugi went to the lobby area of Ryou's apartment, which was still open. He grabbed bottles of rubbing alcohol, as well as five sets of bandages, hoping they would last Ryou a while. Lastly, Yugi picked up some hydrogen peroxide, so he could clean the rest of the dried blood Yugi knew would be present there.

Yugi ran back into the room, hoping his friend wasn't awake. He looked at Ryou's pale, still form, hoping he didn't come too late. There were at least 20 fresh cuts lining the boy's figure. They stood out like a sore thumb, like the bruising Yugi saw earlier.

Yugi got to work, and ripped off Ryou's shirt. First he rubbed hydrogen peroxide on the cuts, effectively cleaning off all the dried blood off. He then took the rubbing alcohol and rubbed it quickly over the cuts, knowing how bad it stung when it touched human flesh. Finally, Yugi placed an ace bandage all around his friend's midsection, shocked when his friend did not stir.

A half hour later, he heard light snoring, and realized Ryou was finally in a normal state of sleep, no longer passed out.

A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A

"What is that little twerp doing here, helping my hikari like he's some kind of hero?" The former thief king spat as he watched the little one bandage and clean Ryou's wounds. How could that little runt fix up what he had purposefully done? The pharaoh's host would pay for trying to rekindle his old friendship with Ryou. And soon…

**A/N: **_[Disclaimer: I don't own YGO.] Anyway, how was it? I hope you like it! Some FF stories I've read have inspired me to try to write about this couple. It sounded pretty interesting, so why not?_

**I also have an idea to start that has to do with ideas from the House of Night series. It would not be a crossover, it would just have similar elements. There wouldn't be any characters from the HoN series.

_R&R! _

_P.S. I'm on break so I will be trying to write more, no matter how much the internet tries to stop working!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Over Thinking This**

By

ForeverIsALongTime

*Mind link : /Bakura/ [Ryou]*

**Chapter 2: What Have You Done?**

Yugi gently fluttered his eyes open, taking in the unfamiliar setting. White walls, red sheets, white hair,,,

Ryou! Yugi looked at the other hikari, who was sitting up in the bed, still waking up. Yugi frowned when he heard Ryou's stomach growl. "Stay right here, Ryou…"

Ryou looked at the gingerly wrapped bandages and smiled. _Thank you, Yugi…_

/You will be thanking him more when he leaves tonight and you are all mine…/

[No! Don't hurt Yugi, please! He is my best friend!]

/I don't care if you have friends, so long as they aren't meddling into your life! They are meddling into mine as well, and that is annoying./

[Don't hurt Yugi.]

/He better not give me a reason to./

[He's the only friend who understands…this. He's the only one I can trust. Please do not make me lose him…]

/Your 'friends' that have trust issues are none of my concern. I warned you that I wanted the Millennium item, and I would do anything to get the pharaoh to give it to me! I hate him! You should have stayed away from Yugi when you first met him. You should have known this was going to end badly for the two of you. This is all your fault!/

"No!" Yugi walked in with new rolls of bandages from the lobby area. "Why did you just say 'no'? I will try to make sure it does not hurt when I change the bandages…" Ryou laughed hesitantly, but said, "It's nothing…Yugi?"

"What is it, Ryou?"

"Promise me one thing after today. Please…"

"Depends…What is it?"

Ryou looked at his friend cautiously. How could he tell his friend to stay away without either getting suspicious or feeling hurt? Yugi was really one of Ryou's closest friends, so he did not want to cause Yugi any grief. He knew that the thief king was right…_I can't keep him here…he can never get hurt by the spirit of the Millennium Ring…  
_"Yugi. Promise me that you will never come back here. Back to this place…" Yugi was about to object when Ryou continued in a pleading voice, "Yugi, you don't know how dangerous he can be. I don't want you to have to feel what he can do to you. You are my best friend, but he does not like you because you associate with the pharaoh…Please, just understand where this is coming from…I don't want to lose you, so I want you to just forget about me from now on. We can hang out once in a while but I just don't want you to get too close. He _will _do something if you end up getting too close…"

During Ryou's speech, Yugi thought, _I don't want this to happen to you either! I don't care what his problem is, but I don't want you to be hurt by him. No one should be hurt by him! Oh, just you wait, Thief King Bakura…I think I have a plan…_Yugi's mind raced at the plan forming slowly in his head. Granted, it wasn't a very well thought out plan, but it could work. Yugi replied, "Fine. But I will still hang out with you once in a while…You are my friend, and you don't deserve what he has been giving you…"

"Thank you, Yugi." Yugi smiled at how relieved Ryou sounded. He wished his friend could feel safe. "No problem. Now take off your shirt."

"Wh-what?" Ryou blushed. Yugi laughed at his timid form and held up the bandages and cream, "You might get an infection wearing dirty bandages around…" Ryou obeyed silently as Yugi unwrapped the bandage around Ryou's slender midriff and applied hydrogen peroxide to the cuts once more. Ryou winced slightly. Yugi apologized, "Sorry, Ryou, but this has to be done." Ryou nodded in understanding as Yugi continued to reapply new bandages to his cuts. Ryou looked down in embarrassment.

Yugi sighed. "All done…" He saw Ryou shaking, "What's wrong, Ryou?"

"I think Bakura is mad for some reason…He wants to talk to you…"

Yugi frowned and then asked, "Will he hurt you in the process?"

Ryou's form shook harder, and his words came out almost breathlessly, "I don't know but I can't hold back anymore…I'm so sorry, Yugi…"

Yugi smiled. "It's alright, Ryou. Don't worry about it. Let him out." _My plan might work out after all. And it's a great opportunity…_Yugi shook gently. Nerves and thoughts racked his mind and body. What would he do once he got…?

Too late to think about it all. Bakura was set free…

~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~

"Hello, little hikari." Bakura's voice was laced with venom.

"Wh-what do you want?" Yugi frowned inwardly when he heard his voice shake.

"Are you scared?"

"No." Yugi was surprised that his voice did not shake that time.

Bakura only laughed in response. "You should be, little one. Where is the stupid pharaoh? I think I want to fight him right now."

"S-Sorry, but the only person you have to fight right now is me." Yugi smiled. Small, but there. Bakura saw it and responded, "What? You think you can take on _me_?"

Yugi pretended to look frightened, but he thought, _yes, I think I can take you on…  
_ "Very well, then. I don't think I'm in the mood to fight right now anyway. Instead…" Yugi watched Bakura's eyes travel to his stomach. Yugi watched in horror as Bakura ran into the kitchen, and came back into the room with a sharp, jagged knife. Bakura laughed menacingly at Yugi's wide eyes. "Why don't you leave and let me finish what I was starting last night? I was really having some fun, too. I wanted to cut him up a little more…" Bakura cleanly cut off the bandages, but right before knife connected with flesh, Yugi spoke up, hoping to distract the thief.

"Are you a masochist?"

"…What?" Bakura looked confused. Yugi wanted to laugh at his confused face and asked again, "Are you a masochist?"

"What is a…_masochist_?"

"You like seeing people suffer, right?"

Bakura frowned, deep in thought, but then shrugged it off and asked, "What the bloody hell does that have to do with anything?"

"Why aren't you answering the question?" Yugi was happy he could at least slow the thief king down a bit.

"Why are you trying to distract me? Are you mad that I stopped all of your hard work in trying to save my hikari? He's pitiful. He needs to be taught a lesson."

Yugi wanted to gag at that. _Bakura really is vile…_

"Why don't you leave now? I want to finish this, and if you don't leave, you may be the one to feel this pain next…" Without another word, Bakura drew the knife across Ryou's chest, leaving an open, bleeding gash. Yugi gasped as Bakura let the knife slip out of his hands.

Ryou's—now Bakura's—shirt lay on the floor as Bakura reached to pick up the bloody tool.

Without thinking, Yugi charged at Bakura, but because he was significantly smaller than the other, he ended up only pushing him back a few steps. Bakura growled and slapped Yugi hard across the face. The contact made an audible _smack! _Yugi held a hand over his face as Bakura again grabbed for the knife. Yugi again tried to hurt Bakura, this time by slapping him, but Bakura—forgetting the knife temporarily—grabbed Yugi's wrist, effectively stopping his attack.

"What the hell, you little runt!" Bakura shoved Yugi into a wall, faster than Yugi could think.

Yugi couldn't stop his thoughts, _I'm going to die here. He's going to kill me…_

Before Yugi could do anything, Bakura took both of Yugi's arms and pinned them above his head. Yugi kicked Bakura right between the legs, causing Bakura to crumble. Yugi then grabbed his chest, hoping to push him away. His hand caught on the string holding the ring.

He shoved, and it was Ryou that lay flat on his back.

Yugi shook. He wanted Ryou to wake up feeling better, but didn't have the time, so he laid breakfast out on the kitchen counter with a note: _Sorry I had to leave._

He ran back to the Game Shop.

Yugi ran straight through the doors of the Game Shop, passing his grandpa. His grandfather stopped him, "Are you alright Yugi? I heard you went over to that boy…Ryou's house." Yugi could only bring himself to nod, and said, "I'm sorry I didn't call sooner, I just needed to make sure Ryou was alright. He is much better now." Grandpa looked relieved. Yugi sighed, feeling like a pit was growing in his stomach.

As Yugi walked up to his bedroom, he sighed again. Yami popped out of nowhere and asked, "You said you'd call. What made you stay over there the entire night?"

Yugi's guilt flooded him as he stared at the former pharaoh's worried face. _I really should have called…_Yugi couldn't stop the tears as they gently fell. He quickly tried to wipe them away as he thought about what happened today. He knew he just betrayed his yami to the extreme, and he really just didn't want to think about it.

Yami looked confused, but then looked even _more _worried when he looked at his precious hikari crying his heart out. "I'm so sorry…so sorry." Yugi couldn't stop repeating those words. Yami pulled Yugi into a hug and gently cupped his face. "It's alright. I understand that it might have just been because your phone died or you were too worried for Ryou. I don't blame you for forgetting to call. Please stop crying, aibou…" He tried to wipe away the tears, and Yugi sniffed. "I really am sorry…" Yugi averted his eyes and asked, "Do you think I can just stay in my room today? I'm exhausted…" Yami nodded and let him pass to his door. Before Yugi could make a quick escape, Yami frowned and grabbed Yugi's shoulder gently. "Why is your face red, Yugi? It's just one side, too…"

"Oh, it's nothing. I just…fell…when I was…trying to fix up Ryou…" Trying to avert the conversation, he said, "Ryou was cut up pretty badly, but the spirit of the ring never showed up so I fixed up Ryou's wounds. He's alright." Yami seemed to relax a little, and the conversation never went truly in-depth.

Yugi opened his door quickly and took off his jacket. He threw the object around his neck off onto the bed in disgust.

The plan worked.

He stole the Millennium Ring.

**A/N: **_Sorry I did not write much over Christmas! I bought an Ipod Touch from Target. It is sooooo cool! I can't write on it, but I can read fan fics on it. It really is the coolest thing (at first I only wanted an ipod classic, but I thought since I have the money, why not right?). *sigh* today is awesome. I hope everyone had a nice holiday!_

_I listened to music by Three Days Grace while writing. It's pretty good for a better atmosphere when writing this stuff lol._

_For the fight scene I hope that it was seen that Bakura lost the Millennium ring right before Yugi left, which was when Yugi grabbed at his chest (since the ring was around his neck, on his chest)._


	3. Chapter 3

**OverThinking This**

**By ForeverIsALongTime**

"Hello, Game Shop." Yami answered the phones for the Game Shop once in a while.

"Can you put Yugi on the phone? Is he alright?" The panicked voice went on.

"Ryou? What's wrong?"

"Didn't Yugi tell you?"

"Tell me what?" Yami racked his brain for a clue of some sort. "Oh, yeah. You were cut up pretty badly right? Was it that thief? I'll kill him if I see him…"

The albino was confused, but caught on, "…Oh. Yeah. I'm fine now. Can I just talk to Yugi now? I wanted to…thank him. For the breakfast he left…"

Yami smiled and walked up to Yugi's room and knocked. "Yugi, it's Ryou. Do you want to talk to him? I know you said you don't feel well…" Yugi slightly opened the door and feigned a cough, "Sorry, tell Ryou I'll talk to him tomorrow at school. Today is Monday, after all…"

"Hey, Yugi. Do you want me to cancel the date we had planned? It's tomorrow so…(A/N: I checked this so the story has passed three days since the date was set…sorry I messed up with the school days)" Yami looked worried. Yugi interrupted, "NO! Don't cancel. I'll be fine after a night's rest. Just tell Ryou to come by after school today, okay? I'll talk to him then." Yugi grabbed the phone, "Ryou? I need a little time to just relax, since _I'm feeling sick_ so just come by after school… That's in about three hours right? Why are you calling me during school anyway? …Oh…you didn't feel too hot either today. I get that. Just go to sleep. Take a nap and come back...Like I said, I _feel sick_ so I _need some time alone._" Yugi hung up and handed the phone back to Yami, hoping Ryou understood that Yami knew nothing about Bakura being right past his door.

"Phew…That was close." Yugi ran to his bed, and then almost screamed.

Bakura, in spirit form, was standing in the corner.

!_!_!_!_!_!_!_!_!_!_!_!_!_!_!_!_!_!_!

"Hello, stupid hikari. Long time no see. Now, will you explain why I am here?" Yugi grabbed the ring and put it around his neck.

Big mistake. Bakura became living, solid. Before Yugi could run or rip the piece of jewelry from his neck, Bakura jumped on the bed and choked Yugi. "I am NOT going to ask again. Now, will you please tell me why I am here? In your room? Where is _my _hikari?" Bakura's grip didn't loosen until Yugi tried to speak. "What was that?" Another gasp from Yugi emerged. "Fine." Bakura shoved Yugi back onto the bed and grabbed his collar. Yugi gasped, trying to speak and catch his breath at the same time. "I…I didn't…want to see…Ryou…hurt…" Yugi coughed and held his throat, that surely was already bruised.

"Just get me back to Ryou. At least he wouldn't fight back. He sure was a fun little toy to play with, that one. He was my hikari, after all…" Yugi stood up a bit and replied, "I won't let you…get near Ryou again. Can you not see all the scars, what you did to him?" Bakura sneered, thinking, _this could prove to be fun…_"Why are you so worried Yugi? Would you like matching scars?"

Yugi prayed that Bakura was kidding, but in his heart knew that the thief wouldn't joke about this. He felt more scared than when he actually _stole _the Millennium ring from Ryou…

True to his word, Bakura grabbed Yugi's arm. His struggles were futile, and he couldn't get out of the thief king's grasp. Shadow magic engulfed the pair, and Bakura laughed menacingly, glad to see the pharaoh's hikari suffer.

"You know, Yugi. I don't need a weapon to injure a person. I was actually going to save this one for Ryou tonight, but who knew you'd be so gutsy and take me from him? You definitely deserve some sort of punishment for that. You _did _say you wanted to take this for Ryou, did you not?" As he spoke, a patch of Shadow magic, shaped similarly to a match floated into Bakura's waiting hand. "This…well, this will burn. A LOT." Bakura used Shadow magic to muffle Yugi's screams as he tore open Yugi's school shirt. The Shadow magic made contact with flesh, and burned it. The magic ate away at Yugi's skin like acid, lapping up all the paths drawn by Bakura.

Yugi did not scream though. He didn't want to give Bakura that satisfaction, but tears involuntarily made their way down Yugi's face. Surprisingly gentle, Bakura wiped them away. Yugi squirmed and writhed under Bakura and his magic, but it was done in vain, proving to be useless. Yugi cried silently in frustration. Bakura frowned and said, "You aren't screaming like Ryou always did. No matter what I did, he would always scream…You are proving to be even more fun than Ryou!"

Bakura looked up when Yugi looked like he wanted to speak. The Shadow magic released his mouth and Yugi whispered in a raspy voice. "Please…please. I'll give you back to Ryou when he comes over. Please just stop…" Yugi hoped Bakura wouldn't catch the lie in his voice. Unfortunately, he knew. "Do you take me for a fool, little Yugi? I'm not letting you out of my sight. You _will _keep the ring on, whether you like it or not. It's yours now." (As seen in season zero with Ryou) The ring's spikes dug their way into Yugi's flesh. Yugi gasped at the sudden pain, wishing it would stop, knowing it was too late to change this. Bakura whispered, "Don't worry. I won't ruin your _date _tomorrow. I must say it will be fun to watch you squirm though…racked with nerves, almost unable to breath…Yes, that will be fun to see…"

Bakura, feeling thoroughly satisfied with himself, stood up from the bed, leaving Yugi sweating and panting. Making his way to the closet, he tossed Yugi a turtleneck sweater. "Here. It will cover the bruises on your arms and neck, the burns—obviously, since they are scattered all over your torso—and the ring. Which will not leave your skin, understood?" Bakura laughed and answered his own question, "Of course it won't come out, considering that Shadow magic and force holds it there." Bakura got no response. He didn't expect one.

Bakura kept blabbering on, "You know, you are very quiet after, just like Ryou…" Yugi finally opened his eyes, barely adjusted to the pain. The black spots blurred his vision. Bakura cupped his face and said, "Awww, poor little hikari. Don't worry, you'll feel better. Your body will get used to the pain…"

Yugi was able to speak in gasps, "I…can't go...date…I'm going to….tell Yami…cancelled…sick." Bakura _tsk_ed and replied, "Oh, how sad. Missing the date with that pathetic pharaoh…" Yugi looked up in shock and asked, "How did you know about that?"

Bakura scoffed, "You now have a link with me. The link with the pharaoh is gone."

_What? _Yugi didn't believe it. It was impossible. Yami was…well, his Yami!

{Yami, where are you?} Yugi desperately called through the link. But he could feel that Yami was gone. Furthermore, he could sense a darker presence lingering.

/What's up, Yugi? Sorry, but it's true. So sad. You are mine now…/ Bakura laughed darkly.

Yugi frowned, but thought through the link {then you must not be connected to Ryou anymore. Well, meet your new…hikari…I guess…} Yugi wanted to throw up just thinking about it. _Maybe this wasn't a great idea after all…_

Bakura laughed, "So, you know how to block your thoughts from the pharaoh. Impressive. He seems to be the jealous type, that's for sure. I'm surprised he would ever give you any sort of freedom like that."

There was a knock at the door, and Bakura left to his soul room as Yugi, without thinking, placed the black turtleneck on. He winced as the fabric touched his skin, but he walked slowly to the door. He opened it to see Yami staring back at him. "Why have you been so quiet through the link? Is something wrong?" Yugi frowned, but a brilliant excuse came to mind, "Actually, I learned how to stop the link, and I just want to surprise you with something for tomorrow, since it _will _be our first true date." Yugi smiled, but cursed inside, wondering what he would get the pharaoh as a gift. A better question would be _how _he was going to get the gift.

Yami smiled and touched Yugi's cheek, stroking it gently. "You don't need to do that. Besides, I already got you something, so you don't even have to worry about it." Yami blushed gently. Yugi smiled and asked, "So, I have to wait until tomorrow to see it?" Yami laughed and nodded.

Something came up in Yami's mind, and he offered, "About the link, I know a way to…permanently…stop it. I know you probably want your privacy and won't want me in your thoughts in _that _way—" Yugi cut him off, "I'm alright. Don't worry about it, okay? I don't mind having you in my thoughts. Besides," Yugi added, "If I wanted to stop the link, I can just do it myself. It really doesn't bother me."

Yami smiled, "Okay. You can do it yourself, actually, if you are ever in the mood to. If you ever want to do it, I don't mind." Yugi knew what it took, and Bakura just did it. It merely meant separating yourself from the item in question by locking your mind or linking with another item. Yugi knew because the pharaoh explained it when he first arrived as well.

Yami left the room and Yugi fell to the floor, shaking. He ripped off the turtle neck and stared at his burnt chest.

Bakura, visible again, stared at Yugi with an unreadable expression. He watched silently as Yugi started to cry silently. No noise escaped him as the tears rolled down his cheeks. Another knock followed Yami's leave, but Yugi stopped Bakura from leaving, "It's been awhile. It's probably Ryou. Just relax. I don't think he'll tell the pharaoh about this if I beg." Going to the bed, Yugi fell under the covers and said, "It's open. Come on in."

As expected, Ryou closed the door quietly and ran into the room. He froze when he saw Bakura, but Bakura just stood there and said, "Relax. I'm not in the mood to hurt anybody right now. I'm going to save some fun for later…"

Ryou ran to the other side of the bed opposite of Bakura and threw off Yugi's covers. Ryou gasped when he saw the burn trails all over the smaller's chest, but his eyes locked with the ring, embedded to his friend. He didn't know what to say. "…I…Wha…Here." Ryou did not speak anymore as he pulled out a little travel kit filled with all of the things Yugi bought the night before. Ryou whispered, "I'm sorry. So sorry. I didn't mean for this…So sorry…" as he watched Yugi wince from the peroxide. Yugi did not cry from the pain and no one spoke as Ryou applied new bandages.

Yugi sat up slowly and asked, "Is there any link in your mind anymore?" He watched as Ryou's face went from confusion to relief as he no longer felt the presence of Bakura in his mind. Once he looked at Yugi, he became stressed. "What about you? What does this mean?"

Yugi laughed bitterly, "I guess Bakura never talked to you about the link you guys shared. He probably gave you no information about any of the things that these Millennium items can do…" Ryou looked at Bakura, who avoided eye contact.

"What does Yugi mean? You told me they held power…does this mean…" He looked from Yugi to Bakura and it clicked, "You mean, now you guys have a link? Yugi's your new hikari!" Ryou lowered his head in his arms and silently cried.

Bakura interrupted, "Shut up. If you would have listened to me and kept your mouth shut about all of this, and maybe do a better job hiding this stuff from your meddling friends like Yugi, none of us would be in this situation…"

Ryou countered, "Why didn't you tell me? I would have made sure no one would get their hands on the ring if I knew that was all it took to break a link! I would have tried harder! I'm so sorry Yugi. I'll take the ring back. I don't care. Please, just give it back, then you don't have to worry about him or…Wait."

"What?" Yugi asked.

"This means…you lost the link…with the pharaoh…" With that realization, Ryou cried harder. "I should not have bumped into you that day. Then you never would have had to go through this or worry. I know it was just a coincidence, but…" Ryou felt helpless and knew what Yugi was going through, which just made his guilt grow.

Yugi smiled and said, "You couldn't have done anything. It was just a coincidence, as you said, so you are not to blame. It's my fault anyway. You know what they say, curiosity killed the cat."

Ryou thought in silence for a while but a thought came to mind, and he said, "Well, it is only a matter of time before the pharaoh finds out about this. And when he does, Bakura will go through hell. That's for sure…" Ryou smiled, "I won't tell anyone. I just hope the pharaoh finds out about this and only gets mad at Bakura…"

Yugi frowned and said to Ryou, "I stole the ring. Yami would blame me just as much as Bakura, so I am going to work hard to make sure that Yami doesn't find out about this. If he kills Bakura, it will end up hurting me anyway, so right now Bakura would be untouchable…unless Yami is willing to hurt me…" Just the thought hurt Yugi's heart. _Would Yami hurt me if it meant getting rid of Bakura, once and for all?_

"I can't give the ring back to you Ryou. _He_ will probably kill you. Plus there is the fact that it's—temporarily—stuck to my chest at the moment. I'm not in the mood to rip it out, thank you." Yugi winced just thinking about it.

"Don't talk like I'm not here." Bakura said quickly. He continued, "I _am_ here, you know. And Yugi's right. I'm here to stay." He gave a fake-innocent smile. He laughed when he saw Ryou's glare. Bakura told Ryou, "Why don't you leave and come back tomorrow? I bet Yugi needs his rest. I mean, he _has _had some great torture today. I think he needs more rest though."

Ryou stared Bakura down and said, "I _will _be back tomorrow. If you hurt Yugi…"

"You'll what? I could use my Shadow magic on you just as easily as I did Yugi. He really took it well, by the way. Like I told him, I don't need a weapon to physically hurt you. The Shadows bend to my will. They are all I need. So…" Bakura whispered in is ear, "You better leave while you still can. Come back soon though." Bakura smirked, glad to see his former hikari frozen in fear. Ryou nodded to Yugi and said, "I'll come back tomorrow with something for you."

Yugi nodded and Ryou left.

{I'm going to go on the date tomorrow. I think I'll be fine by then. It doesn't hurt as bad if I don't make any sudden movements.}

Bakura frowned and said /Why do you still want to go? You will be tortured all night because of this pain./

{Because I really like him. It's worth it. I can take a little pain if I can still go…}

Bakura scoffed at how Yugi was acting. _Pathetic mortals, with their feelings. _ "Fine. You really want to go? Then we have to go shopping for a present." Yugi cursed, "Thanks for reminding me. Well, come on then."

"What? What do you mean 'come on then'? I'm not going with you." Bakura looked disgusted. Yugi just laughed and pointed at his chest. "Looks like you have no choice in the matter, now does it?"

Bakura growled, "You will pay for this, stupid hikari."

**A/N: **_So. I hope you like this chapter! I feel so good, since I finished homework I had to do for school and I got another chapter done! Hope you like it!_

_R&R_

_~ForeverIsALongTime_


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **Don't own YGO. Wish I did though. Who knows all the crazy pairings that would exist!

**A/N: **_Busy, busy, busy…Well, time for the next chapter! Sorry for not updating lately. This week has been so busy…I don't own Scream 4 either, but it was the first movie that popped into my head, so I used the title. I don't know if it's any good. If it is, tell me, because I may see it soon! ^_^_

**Overthinking This Chapter 4**

**By FIALT =D**

"Where the hell is this? Ryou never came to a place like this…So…big…" Bakura could not contain his awe at the large connected buildings known as a shopping complex.

"This, Bakura, is the mall. It is a nice, large place to find great things, and often have sales that prevent the unnecessary spending of money. People come here to hold these things called 'shopping sprees' where they spend all their money on things they don't need—"

"Cut the sarcastic crap, Yugi. Where do we go from here?" Yugi looked around, wondering why it wasn't as crowded. Then he realized it was Monday—a school day—so he realized he would not have to worry about many people being around. "Well, now I don't have to worry about looking crazy talking to air. Not many people are here to see us because it's not a Saturday…"

"It's a little surprising how the pharaoh didn't ask any questions when we left…" Bakura thought.

_(Flashback)_

_ Yugi rushed to the door, hoping Yami wouldn't bother him with questions. He didn't know how to lie his way out of this one._

_ Bakura said through the link, 'If he asks questions, say Ryou forgot something and you, being the goody-two-shoes that you are, just _had _to bring it back, or you'll get anal over it.'_

_ Yugi chuckled unintentionally. Then, he froze._

_ "What's so funny, Yugi?" _Damn, _Yugi thought, cursing his bad luck._

_ Before Yugi could say anything to Yami, Bakura interrupted Yugi's thoughts, 'Say that it's a surprise for him, and now he ruined it.'_

_ "Uh…" Yugi stuttered, "I…well…I…" When Yami was about to speak, Yugi finally looked down guiltily, like a puppy that chewed up his owner's favorite pair of socks. "I was going to…go get you something from the mall for you…you know…the date? It was meant to be a surprise…"_

_ Yami smiled. "That's so sweet! You know I don't need anything. Having you is enough. Safe and sound…" Yami's eyes held all the trust in the world._

_ Yugi fake-smiled at his Yami and said, "I'll be back soon, alright?"_

_ Yami almost pecked Yugi's cheek, but Yugi was out the door. He forgot to say goodbye._

_(End Flashback)_

Yugi again looked down, feeling guilty for mistreating his Yami with all his lies. "Sadly," Yugi commented, "It was a great lie, and he bought it." Yugi, resolved, added, "I have to get him the best present ever. I wonder if there is something at a store that can make up for lying to your own boyfriend…Maybe a magic pill that will make it all go away."

Bakura scoffed, "This was all your fault. You just couldn't take the fall. You made your bed when you picked up the ring; now you have to lie in it."

Yugi sat at a bench and sighed, bending over to place his head in his hands, but winced when he felt the Shadow magic's burns along his chest. He took a deep breath and stared at nothing, entranced in his sea of thoughts.

Bakura laughed, "What's the big deal?"

Yugi sat, motionless for a full minute. Then he got up. "Maybe I can get something pre-ordered. But it wouldn't get here on time. Damn…" Yugi suddenly walked to the bathroom that was conveniently placed a few feet away from the benches. When Bakura made a move to follow, almost subconsciously, Yugi shook his head, clearly mouthing 'no'. For unknown reasons, Bakura waited outside, confused.

_What's the big deal with a little white, or dark in this instance, lie from time to time? If it stays under wraps, then there is no big deal…_Bakura walked around in a circle, unseen by others because of his spirit form. Then he saw a poster titled "Scream 4". What mainly caught his eye though, was the blood. Entranced, Bakura followed signs and signs, until he was in a random theater, enticed by the blood and gore the movie presented. He almost completely forgot about Yugi. _Almost._

Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Yugi waited until he no longer felt Bakura's wavering presence, which surprisingly came quick. Then he broke down, worn from the physical pain and the emotional burden that weighed heavily on his heart.

"What can I do? Bakura's right. This is my fault. I am so fucking stupid for trying to change anything." A little voice in his head, his conscious, whispered, _without you, Ryou would be dead, lying in a ditch somewhere. Bakura would be loose to the general public._

Yugi couldn't contain his anguish and cried. Tears flooded his eyes, and lasted for almost an hour. Yugi frowned when he did not feel Bakura's immediate presence, and sighed softly in relief. _Maybe I can go clothes shopping for a bit if Bakura is gone…_

Yugi walked into the nearest HotTopic, and found the new leather pants he had been wanting lately. _I can also buy a pair for Yami. He would probably appreciate the fact that we would have a matching pair, even if it is a little childish._ Yugi's plan formed in his head, growing in seconds. This was his present to Yami. It was something they had in common, something they could both appreciate.

Yugi grabbed two pairs of leather pants, sizes small and medium (A/N: I wasn't sure what sizes Yugi and Yami could be…), and went into the dressing room.

Bakura yawned from the movie. It wasn't as scary as he thought, and the blood lasted only a few minutes. _That was a waste of ninety minutes…_

He felt the absence of Yugi, and rushed to the Millennium Ring.

Yugi shrieked and whispered fiercely, "What the hell? Are you trying to scare the shit out of me or something? You picked a FINE DAMN TIME to show up, you know that?" Yugi was clad in tight briefs meant to go with leather pants, with the new pants down around his ankles. Yugi hurriedly pulled the pants up, noting that they felt a little large around the waist, but he could make do with what he got, even when he knew they were a small. Heatedly, Yugi blushed and turned away sharply.

Bakura, on the other hand, watched in awe as he saw Yugi redden up to his ears. He had to admit, _Yugi didn't look half bad. _"If only you were a little taller," Bakura muttered to himself. Yugi turned on him with a nasty, scornful look. Bakura just laughed at him, seeing his pink flushed face.

"They don't look bad. I'd get them if I were you. But why do you have a size medium when you know the small size will be a little bigger for you?" Yugi frowned and then admitted in a whisper, "I'm going to buy this for Yami. So we have the same matching pair. I know he'll appreciate it…" Yugi's face was dead serious, and Bakura was left a little speechless. He wasn't in the mood to make fun of Yugi for the moment. And then he saw it.

"Yugi, why are your eyes red? Did I miss something while I was in the movie thing with a big screen?"

"A movie theater? You were in a movie theater? What did you see?" Yugi diverted the questions quickly, and Bakura didn't seem to catch onto the fact. He responded, "I saw the movie 'Scream 4'. Supposed to be popular? It sucked. I wouldn't recommend it. There wasn't nearly enough blood. I know why they called it scream though. My ears are still ringing."

Yugi, thinking that was the end of the topic, went out of the store, purchased the pants, and took Bakura with him to the car. When he was safely inside, Bakura whirled on him.

"You never answered my question. Are you really getting sick or something? The girls in scream looked just like you when they finished crying…Wait!" A light went off in Bakura's head. "Why were you crying?"

Yugi tried to pull the reign on the cold and coughed and sniffled a bit. "I think I am just coming down with something—"

"Seriously, _cut the crap. _I promise, I can force it out of you if I want to."

Yugi looked confused, "Why would you want to force this out of me? It has nothing to do with you." _Hopefully he doesn't catch the lie, _Yugi thought to himself, away from the link.

Bakura contemplated this for a minute, and then just said, "Drive back to that nasty house where the idiot lives." Bakura couldn't help but look back at the enormous complex. "Maybe if there is a next time, I will see a better film than that. More bloooood…" With that, Bakura left to the ring, glad to be done with the hobby of shopping.

Yugi smiled to himself and said, "I can't wait until tomorrow!"

[TBC]


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 of Overthinking This**

**By FIALT**

"Hey Yugi!" Yami went to greet his lovely boyfriend. Before he could get in a word edgewise, Yugi rushed in, "I got your present, and you are going to love it! It will be awesome. I hope it fits…" Yugi muttered the last sentence so Yami couldn't hear, frowned, and then asked, "What size do you wear?"

"A medium, why?" Yami was officially getting curious as to what Yugi got him, and surprisingly, clothes never crossed his mind as a gift. He wasn't thinking about the words, just about the excitement of getting something from Yugi.

"Thanks. Wow, I'm exhausted, so I really need to get to bed…Crap, I have some make-up work to finish too…Darn, it must be this cold…Making me out of it…" Yugi yawned. He ran up the stairs, yelling, "Good-night everyone!"

Bakura greeted Yugi, "So, what is your plan now?"

Yugi took off his shirt, and Bakura got to see his pale, lightly toned chest and mid-section. Bakura couldn't help but stare at the delicate frame, and almost regretted cutting up the light's skin. _Almost. _

"Well, right now, what I plan to do is clean my cuts, bandage them better, and then honestly go to sleep. Today wore me out. I really hope I'm not tired tomorrow. I'd hate to cancel…"

Yugi went into the bathroom and rubbed rubbing alcohol and peroxide on his cuts. Tears sprung to his eyes involuntarily from the sting, but he bit his lip and continued to clean. Once he felt the threat of an infection no longer lingered, he walked out of the bathroom without a shirt. He then prepared a shirt to wear when he woke up in the morning so Yami wouldn't see the bandages.

Bakura, bored, summoned Shadow magic. He laughed when he saw Yugi freeze in fear and turn around to face Bakura's now-solid form. He didn't let the Shadow magic dissipate, but let it lace around him like a snake. "Relax Yugi. Just wait until tomorrow. Then I will try to make you scream." Yugi asked, "Why?"

"Because, Yugi, you remind me a little too much of the pharaoh…"

Yugi shivered involuntarily, and froze when he forgot about the shirt that was ripped open by Bakura's last attack. "Where's my shirt?"

Bakura shrugged, "You're wearing one. What are you talking about?" Yugi rushed around the room, darting to find the shirt Bakura tore. Under the bed? No. In the corners of the room? Nope. In the dressers? Closet? Yugi started breathing hard, close to panicking. He ran down to the washer and dryer silently so no one would know he was up. Bakura dispersed and reappeared when they reached the washer and dryer. Yugi rummaged through the clothes hamper and found the shirt in the pile of clothes waiting to be washed. He could make out faint blood stains. "I really hope Yami wasn't the one to find this…"

Yugi snuck the shirt under his arm and sprinted like a ninja back up to his room. He stared at the shirt and pondered ways to dispose of it without anyone knowing about it.

Bakura walked around the room and then looked out the windows. "Here," He looked in Yugi's closet, pulled out a random board game in the back of the top shelf—because he was tall enough to reach—and emptied the box. He stuffed the shirt into the box and opened the window where he proceeded to use untraceable Shadow magic to open the trashcan on the lower level, lift two trashbags full of trash, and place the box under them. Once he finished placing the bags back in the can, he saw Yugi's awestruck face. "What?" He asked, "Did you like that game or something?"

Yugi shook his head silently and placed the actual game in another random box of puzzle pieces. He silently thanked Bakura, who only nodded in response, and climbed into bed.

Anxious, he tried to sleep, but he struggled. The date was tomorrow, and he really didn't know how to hide the ring's energy or the bruises and scarring. When the clock struck seven, the day's excitement wore him out, so he succumbed to sleep.

Bakura, on the other hand, was awake, so he just watched Yugi's sleeping face. Unknowingly, hatred filled his heart. He silently asked himself, "Why does he have to look so much like that goddam pharaoh? If he didn't…" He let the statement fall flat. He didn't know why this fact was killing him, but he could barely contain his anger when he felt it.

Having ignored it for so long, he finally couldn't take it. Bakura lunged at Yugi's sleeping face. The clock read 10:00 p.m. Yugi's eyes widened and his involuntary screams were muffled again by a strong source of Shadow magic. Without a shirt, Bakura was free to do what he pleased to Yugi's body, so he made a long jagged cut across Yugi's collarbone with Shadow magic and repeated his earlier thoughts to Yugi. "Why do you have to look so much like the goddam pharaoh that I hate so much? If you didn't…" He clenched his teeth when he realized he still couldn't finish the statement. Instead, he pinned Yugi's wrists above his head and kissed Yugi roughly, but slowly started gently kissing and caressing his tears away. He moved down to Yugi's fresh cut and lapped up blood that threatened to spill down onto Yugi's comforter in a daze.

Yugi couldn't think clearly, so all he could do was sob. Bakura stopped kissing Yugi and was surprised when Yugi's broken sobs were so strong, but was glad because they were hidden by the Shadow magic that engulfed them. "Why do you decide to cry now? I thought you were the one who put up a strong front! This is no fucking fun!" Bakura got off of Yugi and sat in the corner of the room, hiding Yugi's sobs with Shadow magic.

All Yugi could think about was the fact that Bakura kissed him. _He had a boyfriend, _and he just kissed another person.

_You got kissed by someone, you did _not _kiss back. _His conscious couldn't clear his mind, because he couldn't stop thinking about how _soft _the kiss was after the initial roughness. Yugi couldn't deny it: he _liked _that kiss. The pleasure mixed with the pain of his new cut overwhelmed him in the best and worst way.

Yugi felt dirty and guilty, which is why he couldn't stop crying. He felt betrayed and shocked that Bakura would suddenly spring that on him. Confusion racked his brain. Almost mechanically, Yugi's tears silently dripped from his eyes and he walked into the shower. Bakura let the Shadow magic fall, and was filled with his confusion. _What the hell made me do that to _him_? He's my enemy's boyfriend for crying out loud! Wait! _Bakura tried to rationalize his actions, _he's my enemy's number one. He's just a step to taking down the pharaoh! That's why I did it! _

Bakura stared silently at the walls of the room, and knew deep down that he had wanted to kiss that hikari, but he honestly didn't know why. He just knew that the little one's lips were like heroin and highly addictive. The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to kiss Yugi _again, _no matter what the price was. Even if he was mainly a spirit, the light physical form he held _felt _that kiss.

Of course, he was a little guilty for kissing Yugi and being the cause of the treacherous sobs that pulled at his heart, but he had heard those from his hikari as well, so they did not seem to bother him as much as they should.

Yugi scrubbed at his skin and couldn't help tingling from the burning sensation of the darker one's lips across his collarbone and cheeks, even if it was almost like a wisp because of his ghost-like form. Unforgettable. Yugi sat there, his thoughts numbing him.

He thought about Yami, and guilt grew over the situation. He now _loathed _the beast called Bakura.

Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q

Yugi pulled the shirt over his head that he picked out the day before. Ignoring Bakura, he slowly walked downstairs to greet Yami. He couldn't help but feel a small tug of guilt when he remembered what happened the night before.

Yugi instantly kissed Yami, and Bakura couldn't help but feel pissed that Yugi was throwing himself all over the pharaoh. _Those lips are mine, _he thought with a possessiveness he didn't understand. Yugi kissed Yami rougher and wrapped his arms around his neck—avoiding touching chests—hoping that the kiss would blow his mind like it did that first day.

Yami laughed and pulled back so he could breathe. "Hello to you too, Yugi." Yugi smiled sweetly, but inside, he knew that the sparks could never be as strong. Yami pecked Yugi lightly on the cheek and handed him a plate of eggs and toast. Yugi laughed, "Since when did you learn to cook, pharaoh?"

Yami shrugged, "Grandpa taught me. I thought it'd be more fun to not fear a skillet." Yugi smiled his innocent smile and said, "I want tonight to be at least a little surprising, even if we live together, so I'm going to be in my room until 7, alright? Pleeeeasssseee?" Yami smiled, "Whatever you wish, Yugi."

Yugi went back upstairs after he finished his tasty breakfast. _Who knew the pharaoh could cook so well? _Yugi thought to himself.

Bakura watched as Yugi walked into the room and decided to forget about that night. He knew he didn't want to have to deal with any confusing feelings creeping into his thoughts. _Disgusting. A mortal's mind is clouded with only one thing. My mind will NOT be like a human mind, weak to mundane things. _Bakura resolved himself and told Yugi, "Let's forget about last night. I wasn't in the right state of mind. I was angry and took it out on you. I can tell you want to pretend it didn't happen too. From now on, that kiss never happened. I cut you up a bit. That was it."

Yugi turned around to fix his alarm clock to five o'clock, two hours before the date. "Fine. It's already forgotten. I'm bored, so I'm going to listen to music; unless that's an inconvenience for you too." Yugi mentally slapped himself and tried to control his thoughts, but he couldn't forget that question Bakura asked him: Why do you have to look like the pharaoh?

_Why do I look like the pharaoh? It has to be weird for others to see us together. They may think we are brothers. It doesn't help that we _both _have to be short. _Yugi was getting angry all of a sudden and blurted, unstoppable, "Why do I have to look like the pharaoh?"

Bakura didn't answer, only stared. Yugi blared his music. The first song that was on was "The Diary of Jane" by Breaking Benjamin. Yugi messed up his hair and started dancing, his mind only focused on one thing: lyrics. He swayed to the rhythm and guitar. Bakura listened as well. He liked the song: it had a good guitar intro.

_If I had to, I would put myself right beside you,_

_So let me ask_

_Would you like that? _

_Would you like that?_

_And I don't mind_

_If you say this love is the last time,_

_So now I'll ask_

_Do you like that?_

_Do you like that?_

_No!_

_Something's getting in the way._

_Something's just about to break._

_I will try to find my place in the diary of Jane._

_So tell me _

_How it should be._

Bakura listened, fascinated. The song was an unexpected choice for Yugi. It was rock, and Bakura could never have pictured Yugi enjoying a song like this, until he saw Yugi rocking out to the music. Bakura disappeared back into the ring, giving Yugi some personal time.

Yugi relaxed once he felt Bakura's presence was back in the ring. He winced when his dancing affected his chest. He wasn't left with much core mobility because of the ring stuck in his midsection and the cuts everywhere.

Yugi heard a knock at the door. "Pharaoh, I told you I'd be—" Yugi was a little surprised to see Ryou standing at his door with a backpack. "Why do you have your backpack?" Ryou frowned. "It's Tuesday, Yugi. Are you just going to avoid going to school altogether? But I'm not just carrying books in my backpack. Take off your shirt."

"What?" Yugi asked. He was confused. Ryou replied, "The roles are a little switched now." He opened his backpack, laced with proper sterile medical cleaning supplies. "Has he left a cut that has needed stitches yet?"

Yugi frowned and shook his head. He obediently took off his shirt to reveal a chest covered in bandages. Ryou involuntarily winced, seeming to remember what he once had to deal with, and couldn't help but stare at the ring now embedded into his friend's chest.

Ryou quickly removed the bandages, and jumped when he felt another presence in the room. "Hello, Bakura."

"Hey, weakling. I think I broke Yugi." Yugi stiffened when he heard his name being called by the dark. Ryou thought he winced in physical pain, "Are you alright? I'm not hurting you, am I?" Yugi laughed harshly, no humor in his voice, "At least you care if you hurt me. I can't say the same about your other half. I gotta admit: he's a world-class inconsiderate asshole. He doesn't care if you have a boyfriend or not." Yugi huffed and his face turned red in fury.

Bakura retorted, "Who fucking cares about one stupid kiss? It's not like it meant anything! I was fucking pissed!"

"What made you pissed enough to throw yourself at me—literally—and kiss me like that!" Yugi was whispering, deadly. He knew it would be very easy for Yami to hear, and this was one fight he didn't want anyone else to hear. He couldn't help it if Ryou came.

This time, Bakura retreated. "I don't know."

"No," Yugi wouldn't accept this response, "What in the world could have made you so fucking pissed off that would cause you to jump me and cut me up like a crazy person? Huh?" Bakura shrugged, but Yugi watched as his anger skyrocketed. "Tell me!" Yugi provoked, "I want to know why in the hell you think you have to right to kiss me like that and cut me up whenever you please!"

Bakura—who wasn't all that sure behind the motives of the kiss—lied through his teeth, but Yugi didn't catch the lie, "You are the number one person in my enemy's life. It was a great opportunity to ruin you. Once you are broken and out of the picture, it will only be the pharaoh and I, who I will fight to the death. Without you, he'll be nothing."

Yugi went numb. He couldn't help but get angry at this response, but calmed himself down and said, "I'm glad it didn't mean anything. It was you who threw yourself at me. I have nothing to feel ashamed about."

Bakura was about to ask, _What do you have to feel ashamed about? _But he was cut off by Ryou, whose eyes widened at Yugi's last statement. "Why would you feel ashamed if Bakura kissed you? It's not like you could have enjoyed it or anything, right?" He laughed hesitantly.

Yugi's eyes widened, and he ran to the bathroom.

[tbc]

**A/N: **_**I forgot how long it took to write! Thanks for the recent reviews! I love how this story is turning out so far, how about you! I have an idea for where the story is going, and I can't wait to get there, which is why I'm trying to write more. Hope you enjoy the latest chapter!**_

_**R&R**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**By FIALT**

Ryou said, "It's okay you know. It's not the worst thing in the world. Bakura's a real—"Bakura stepped up to Ryou in his strongest physical form and said, "Leave. Now." Ryou backed away, knowing his Yami was serious. He stuttered, "B-bye Yugi. I'll see you tomorrow. H-have f-f-fun on your d-date."

Bakura linked with the ring and was standing in the bathroom. He watched Yugi's blushing face, even though Yugi tried to hide it with his face in his hands. "So," Bakura said casually, "You liked it? That makes sense now. If you feel guilty about it."

Yugi turned on him, "Go ahead. Make fun of me. Do what you want. Just leave!" He crumpled to the floor, tears unwillingly gliding down his face. Embarrassment was strong.

Bakura kneeled. "Whatever I want?" Yugi looked up in confusion, "What?"

Bakura seized Yugi's face gently, but with a strong grip in case Yugi tried to pull away, and planted a soft, searing kiss onto Yugi. His tongue lightly begged for entrance. Yugi gasped softly and Bakura took the opportunity to memorize all of Yugi's mouth. He explored the warmth and the kiss grew deeper. Bakura was surprised when he felt Yugi's arms wrap around his neck. He sat closer and placed a strong, soft hand on the nape of Yugi's neck and used his hair to lift his face up. He moved his head lower to Yugi's neck, giving the younger one a time to breathe. Bakura kissed and occasionally nipped at silky skin that wasn't hidden by an article of clothing. Bakura couldn't help but think that Yugi was sexy in his own way. Yugi gasped in ecstasy, and accidently whispered, "Yami…"

Bakura, confused, looked up with wide eyes, and stared into Yugi's equally shocked amethyst orbs. Bakura felt his chest squeeze painfully hearing the name he hated most. Hardening his eyes, Bakura said, "I'm leaving. You better take a shower before your date. Wear a turtleneck." Bakura pointed to Yugi's neck. Yugi absentmindedly placed a hand where Bakura had just left a trail of kisses. Bakura left, retreating into the ring.

Yugi looked confused. _Why didn't I pull away? More importantly, why would I say "Yami" when I sort of knew that Bakura was the one doing the kissing? _Tired of tears, and tired of feeling guilty, he stripped to rinse off his hair in the shower. He avoided getting his bandages wet. When he got out, he felt a wave of lethargy.

"Yugi," Yugi jumped when he heard the pharaoh say his name. "Yes?" Yugi replied politely.

"An alarm on your clock went off 20 minutes ago. I didn't know if it was important and I didn't want to walk in on your shower." Yugi smiled and said, "Thanks for the tip, Yami. I'm fine on time."

He heard Yami's retreating footsteps. Yugi grabbed a towel and walked into his room. Under the bed, he grabbed the bag with the leather pants. "I think it'll be alright to leave the pants in the bag." He grabbed his own pair and put them on, along with a thick, sleeveless turtleneck. He stared at the marks on his neck left by Bakura before folding the turtleneck accordingly. "Maybe I'll wear a jacket on top…" When he was dressed, he stared at himself in the mirror and frowned. "I still have to do my hair." After 30 minutes of blow-drying his hair, he used hair gel to style his hair with more precision than his normal hairdo.

Meanwhile, Bakura didn't know why he was so furious. He was clearly seeing red, knowing that Yugi said another guy's name when _he _clearly was the one kissing him like that. "Why the bloody hell did he _have _to go and say 'Yami'? He should have been focused on me! Fuck!" He felt the shower running, and then Yugi changing, and Yugi doing his hair.

Bakura entered Yugi's room. "Wow. I never knew it took so long to do your hair."

"It usually doesn't take this long." Yugi replied almost automatically. Then, he asked, "What was that in the bathroom before my shower?"

"I did what you asked," Bakura seemed to try to avoid the question. "I did what I wanted, and then I left. Drop it." When Yugi looked like he was going to say something else, Bakura slammed him up against a wall, harshly but not too painfully, and repeated, "Drop. It. This discussion is over." Yugi shrugged. "Fine." Yugi's senses were on overdrive when he felt Bakura's arms holding him in place. He felt electricity spike up his arm. He squirmed out of the yami's grip, not wanting to commit any other acts of 'adultery' under the same roof of his Yami.

Yugi played some more music, now moving onto the Jonas Brothers, "Hey You." Bakura pointed to the dresser. "Ryou left some homework that you have to finish soon." Yugi grabbed it and finished it quickly. By the time he finished, it was time for the date.

Yugi suddenly lost his excitement of the date and walked out calmly with the bag. He was a little surprised to see Yami standing in similar attire as he wore, at the foot of the stairs, ready to meet him. Yugi smiled and gently kissed Yami's cheek. Yami kissed him lightly on the lips. Yugi smiled and asked, "Is the other party here yet?"

"Yup. They're waiting outside."

"Great." Yugi walked out slowly, with Yami by his side.

Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q

"We changed our minds." That was the first words out of Mai's mouth.

The date was going to be at the park.

Yugi smiled, loving the idea of having a date at such an innocent place. "It's perfect!" He thought about Bakura, _at least he won't show up now. He can't possibly like going to a place like the park!_

Yugi faintly remembered a threat made by the former thief king that he'd watch Yugi squirm all night from nerves. Yugi smiled; he was glad that he wouldn't have to deal with that the whole night.

The walk to the park was calm. It was peaceful. Something Yugi needed. He took a breath of fresh air, and soon, the two couples arrived to an area clad with a blanket and a picnic basket. Yugi loved the friendly atmosphere.

Yami pulled Yugi's face close to his and said, "I love you." In response, Yugi kissed his yami gently and sat on the blanket. "Oh, I almost forgot! Here's your present. They match mine. I didn't know if you'd like it…They just seemed to match you."

Yami brightened when he saw the leather pants. "They're perfect! And they're a medium! Thank you Yugi!" Yami went to hug Yugi, but Yugi remembered the ring so he placed a light hand to restrain Yami from fully hugging him and kissed him gently on the lips.

_Damn, it's like there's no sparks in our kisses anymore! _Yugi smiled at Yami and Yami said, "I can't wait to try on these pants!" Yugi laughed at the enthusiasm. "I'm glad that you like them!"

"Wow, you two are really lovey-dovey…" Joey stated. Mai kissed her beloved on the cheek and said, "Oh, it's not like you haven't seen that before…" Everyone laughed when he turned red, thinking about the mutual love he and Mai have shared for the past months. "I'm glad you two are happy. You both deserve it. Let's hope life stays this good forever." Joey held up a can of soda, like a toast.

_Happy, _Yugi thought. He definitely wasn't happy. He was stressed. He grabbed a soda and toasted, "Forever…" Yugi knew he wouldn't be able to hide this secret forever, but he knew he'd try his hardest. Mai and Yami toasted as well.

Yugi was surprised when Bakura didn't stir in the ring. He ignored his inquiring curiosity and they all talked about school, love, and what everyone considered to be 'happy' topics. After a while, Yugi saw the swings and said, "I think I want to try out the swings."

Getting on made him feel like a carefree kid again. "I forgot how much fun this used to be. I still feel like I'm in the air flying…" Yugi felt a strong sense of nostalgia as he flew higher and higher. Bakura could feel the sensation through the ring, and couldn't help but feel a sense of calm. He couldn't help but think, _this fits Yugi's personality better…_

Then Yami came by to join Yugi on the swings. Soon the whole gang was indulging in childhood games like swinging and sliding. Joey and Mai even tried playing tag, which ended like a romantic movie: the guy falls on top of the girl—or vice versa—and they would stare into each other's eyes in a doting way, and then they would kiss.

"Those two look like they could be together forever and never get tired of eachother…" Yugi said quietly. Joy could be traced in his voice. He was glad that at least his friend could be happy.

"I hope that we stay this happy." Yami sighed blissfully. A smile was planted on his usually sharp features.

Yugi thought about the present he gave Yami and felt a little bad about giving him a matching pair of pants. He voiced his concern. "Isn't it weird I bought the same pair of pants for both of us? I mean, people confuse us for brothers on a daily basis. Wouldn't this just make the problem worse?"

Yami laughed in response, something Yugi didn't want to hear. He wanted the pharaoh to take this seriously. Yami sighed at Yugi's disheartened expression and said, "If it's a present from you, I don't care what anyone says about it. All that matters is that you gave it to me."

Yugi was grateful that the pharaoh tried to console him, so he pretended it didn't bother him anymore, even though he still wasn't convinced that the whole look-alike fact wasn't a problem. Bakura's former words repeated in his head as he swung.

_Why do you have to look like the pharaoh? If only you didn't…_

_How would Bakura finish that statement? He never did…_Yugi really wanted to know what Bakura wanted to say the night before, but he was not in the mood to ask the former thief king at the moment.

After some time passed, the date ended, just as peacefully as it had started. Yugi was grateful for the normalcy of the date. He said 'good-night' to the pharaoh and his grandfather, and was in bed, hoping for some sleep. Before he could get some shut-eye, Bakura pounced on Yugi and pinned his wrists above his head.

"I'm angry but I have no idea why…" Bakura whispered fiercely in Yugi's ear, sending shivers up his spine. He continued, "I don't _ever _want to hear that nasty pharaoh's name on your lips when I'm around, understand?" Yugi nodded in fear, but Bakura continued, "I don't think you do understand. Let me make myself clear."

The kiss started roughly again. Bakura forced Yugi's lips apart and again traced the familiar patterns of the younger's mouth. Yugi tried to push away, but he was quickly pinned by Shadow magic. Bakura straddled Yugi and traced a finger down Yugi's chest. Yugi pleaded, "Please. I don't know if I can take this again. Please just stop…" Bakura frowned and replied, "I'm not in the mood to stop. But don't worry. I'm almost done, so don't worry your beautiful little heart over it…" Bakura laughed inside at the words he had chosen.

Yugi felt an internal blaze where Bakura's finger had traced and couldn't help but get turned on. He moaned in pleasure as Bakura tore away his shirt and nipped at the warm, living flesh beneath him. Bakura made butterfly kisses down Yugi's chest and flicked his tongue around the naval area. Yugi gasped at Bakura's lustful gaze. Bakura's lips met his again, but were again softer than the start of the kiss, and very deep and passionate. Yugi moaned out, "'Kura…More…"

Bakura obeyed. Moving to his ear, he flicked his tongue around the ear, and nibbled at the lobe. Yugi had no chance at the flames that Bakura ignited in him. It was stronger than the electricity, and the desire was felt by the two. Yugi felt a hard bite on his neck and cried out. Bakura lapped up any blood and kissed the wound gently.

"There…" Bakura whispered, thoroughly satisfied. "Now you will only think of me when someone kisses you like…_that._" Yugi gasped and tried to catch his breath at the hot, heavy atmosphere around him.

"How was the date?" Bakura asked casually. Yugi shrugged, "It was sweet. It was something I dreamed about doing once in a while, and it was a very suitable first date. Why do you ask?"

"No reason. You must be tired. Go to sleep." Yugi obeyed. Almost immediately, Yugi crashed.

Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q_Q

Yugi woke up at around midnight and felt a strange feeling. He walked around the house, not able to catch what was making his stomach twist. He knocked on Yami's door, but got no response.

_Weird, _Yugi thought. _He's usually a light sleeper. I wonder what's up with him. _Yugi opened the door and gasped at what he saw.

Tea and Yami were kissing on the bed.

Oblivious to his presence.

Yugi found Yami's trashcan, and when they both looked up, he heaved. The smell of vomit filled the room. Before the pharaoh could get a word in edgewise, Yugi yelled, "What the hell is this pharaoh! Why the hell are you with her, when you are supposed to be with me?" Yami looked dumbfounded, and had no excuse. He just said monotonously, "She offered to meet me up a few days ago before we were together, and I thought she would be fun to have on the side…"

"I'm sorry, Yu—" Yugi interrupted. "No. _This—"_ he pointed at the space between the two of them, "is over. I hope I never see your good-for-nothing face again. Get out."

"What?" Now the pharaoh was really confused.

"I said…Get. Out. Now!" Yugi yelled. "Stay at this slut's place for all I care, but do not. I mean, do NOT. EVER come back here. Grab your things and leave."

Yami silently obeyed the command and packed his belongings. Yugi watched silently as the two left the house. Yugi was only glad his grandfather didn't wake up to hear the ordeal.

When he got to his room, Bakura was lying flat on the bed in his physical form. Yugi cried for what he lost, and went to Bakura's side. Bakura silently embraced the youth, who cried until dawn broke the darkness of night.

**A/N: **_This story is so much fun to write! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!_

_R&R and tell me what you think! I think you guys might like this chapter the best (or the worst, depending on your point of view on the different pairings lol =P)_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**By FIALT ***Warning: Sorry for the Tea bashing, it just sort of fit…*

Bakura watched Yugi cry all night. He couldn't help but wonder why it hurt so much, because he never felt the type of pain when you're supposed-lover cheats on you. He never felt true love, except when before his parents died. After that though, all he cared about was revenge. He never took the time to truly experience the joy of having a relationship, thus, avoiding the heartbreak that can go with it.

When the clock read 5:00 a.m., Yugi sniffled and wiped his tears away. Bakura tried to help, and Yugi didn't push him away. Yugi went to the bathroom and splashed his face with icy water, hoping to reduce the redness in his face, even though he knew it wouldn't help. He walked back to the room and tiredly said to Bakura, "You know, nobody is holding you here but you. You can probably find someone easier to live with if you want to. You don't have to stay here." Yugi almost died of embarrassment when he walked back into that room at midnight with Bakura there, knowing what happened.

Bakura thought for a second and then asked, "Why did you cry so much? I've never seen you cry so much. Whenever we dueled, you were always one to keep your cool. How could that have hurt _so _badly?"

Yugi almost lashed out at him, but he saw Bakura's innocently, honestly confused expression. "Have you ever felt love?"

Bakura nodded quickly and added, "It was a long time ago. But it was only my parents…They were the only people I've ever loved."

Yugi looked like he was going to cry at that statement, but he said, "Imagine any love you hold for someone being ripped away. If you truly loved that person, and then someone else is there to take your place instantly, it hurts. A lot…Why the fuck did he have to take Tea's offer? She offers it to everyone!" Bakura felt a flash of rage, thinking of his parents being ripped from him.

"Who knows…" Bakura didn't want to excuse the pharaoh in Yugi's eyes, but he had to say it because he knew the pharaoh's true nature and also that Yugi would probably want to know. "Actually—" Yugi was all ears as Bakura spoke, "—the pharaoh has always had someone by his side while he reigned in Ancient Egypt. He always had someone close to him…" Yugi's expression said 'so? Get to the point.' Bakura continued, "Even if he fell in love with someone, he was used to having others around. He was given lavish parties filled with his choice of females, and picked girls to stay at his feet while he held his love in his lap. Does that make sense?"

Yugi looked slightly confused, even though Bakura could see Yugi's effort in trying not to be. Bakura finally said, "His love was his highest priority. But it didn't keep other companions away. So. He does love you. He just is used to having others on the side…"

Yugi heard his phone consistently vibrate. He noticed it had been doing that for a while. Bakura almost yelled, "What the bloody hell is that? Why can't it stop its incessant buzzing? I want to fling it across the fucking room! I mean, I didn't say anything while you were upset, but now…" Yugi laughed and looked at the screen. He pointed to his phone and said, "It's my phone. I have been getting calls from the…you know who…"

"Are you going to answer them?" Bakura inquired. He was genuinely curious. Yugi could see that. He thought about how this secret would eventually ruin their relationship, and that there was a higher risk with Bakura involved, but he felt broken without his Yami.

"Maybe I'll just text him so I won't have to hear his voice…" He knew he could be tempted to take the dark back by his way with words.

Yami sat in Tea's bed, confused. _Why did Yugi kick me out? _Yami wanted to talk to Yugi. He didn't know it would _hurt _Yugi when he went with Tea on the side. _It never bothered the others…_

After trying to call Yugi over fifty times—yes, he tried calling fifty times—Yami finally felt his phone vibrate. Happily, he picked up the phone.

**(Yami) **_(Yugi)_

_Hello, Yami? _Yami almost cried when he received Yugi's text. He immediately replied.

**Yugi, please let me explain! I love you, only you!**

_Will you stop seeing Tea on the side?_

Yami replied mechanically: **Of course.**

_Would you stop seeing anyone else you may be keeping on the side as well?_

Yami was getting upset. **Why do I have to stop seeing everyone? It would be weird without anybody around…**

_Wat about me? im not satisfied in a relationship like this… Aren't I enough?_

**Wait, Yugi! It's not like that! I only love you. I want you to be happy; that is my number one priority. You know that, right?**

After Yami thought for a while, he decided:

**I'll stop seeing anyone else. I'll prove that you're my number one.**

Yami's phone vibrated. He answered, "Hello?"

Yugi cried into the phone, "Do you promise to let me be the only one for you?"

Yami smiled, not regretting his decision. "Of course. My one and only."

"Bye…" Yugi whispered shyly into the phone.

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When Bakura was sure that the phone was hung up, he swung on Yugi, "What the hell was that? I thought you said you didn't want to be tempted by that asshole pharaoh's voice!"

"What the hell? I never said that…pfft…" Yugi shrugged Bakura off. "I don't owe you an explanation either! You aren't my mother!"

"Fine!" Bakura yelled, letting his rage and irrational jealously over this injustice emanate, "Don't you come fucking crying to me AGAIN when he breaks your heart! AGAIN! Maybe I won't be here to listen to it!"

Yugi stared at him, flustered, "Who the hell said you could leave? You were the one who said you wanted to stay. That was _your _choice…"

Bakura scowled, "Oh, hell no. You are NOT going to play innocent here. That's only when your sucky boyfriend shows his face around you. I was _thinking_ that maybe I could take it easy on you. I was _thinking_ of being considerate of your feelings. I was only _thinking_ about you and that I actually started to _care_. That sure was stupid of me. Who knew you were such a masochist? And yeah, I fucking looked the word up. But just you wait, little twerp. You'll be dead before I decide to stay. Now…" Bakura dipped dangerously close to Yugi's face. "You're living hell starts right now…You enjoyed those kisses. Wait until tonight. You'll become a hypocrite for judging that stupid pharaoh."

With that, Bakura disappeared. Yugi just stared at the wall where Bakura's shadow previously lingered, frozen with fear.

Before Yugi could catch himself, he collapsed.

~Twenty Minutes Later~

Yami was glad to be able to stay with Yugi. He thought about his other girls on the side, and wanted to see them, but he decided to wait until things blew over before calling them up again. He didn't want Yugi to find out about them. Arriving at the Game Shop, he unlocked the shop door that read 'closed'.

Yami walked casually into Yugi's room and saw Yugi passed out.

Trying not to panic, he called Ryou for help.

"You're the only one I know who can help him. What do I do?"

~Forty Minutes Later~

Ryou walked up to Yami and said, "Sorry. I picked up some flu medicine, gatorade for electrolytes, and yogurt for food, because he probably won't be hungry enough to eat for a while. I'll take care of him. Go get some rest."

Ryou watched cautiously as Yami walked out of the room. He laid his hand flat on Yugi's chest, feeling the fellow hikari's heartbeat. Moving his hand, he could feel the gold plating on his old Millennium Ring. He lifted Yugi's shirt up carefully, surprised to see thicker bandages with the ring in plain sight emanating from his chest. He traced his own scars created by the daggars the ring possessed, remembering the abuse. Fixing the shirt, he went to work in helping his friend.

Ryou fed Yugi and gave him some cold medicine until he woke up, groggy.

Yugi smiled up at Ryou, and said, "Hey, buddy. How are you without the ring?" Ryou 'shh'-ed him and asked, "Did you know the pharaoh was the one to find you, collapsed with a fever?"

Yugi laughed, "Pleeeeasee, he couldn't have known I had a fever."

Ryou frowned, serious, "I can't believe I forgot what cold medicine does to you. Okay," Ryou spoke slowly, hoping he could make his friend understand the situation. "Yami was THIS close to finding out about you hiding the ring. If he knew, your relationship would be in the toilet, you know that?"

Yugi, who was an honest person, was even more honest while inebriated, "Our relationship is already in the toilet. Bakura knows that he's just going to cheat on me again. I believe it! Bakura. Is. Right! I hope that he tortures me. I feel so stupid for taking the pharaoh back. He's not even that good of a kisser! I mean—"

Yugi shut up when he saw the pharaoh in the doorway. "How much of that did you happen to hear?" Yugi said, words slightly slurred. "Heh, not like it matters anyway. See, Ry? You should listen to Bakura; he's like a psychic!"

Yami looked at Yugi, pissed off. "I knew it was a good idea to keep those extra girls on the side."

"WHAT?" Yugi screamed, "No fucking way! HOW THE HELL COULD YOU CHOOSE THOSE GIRLS OVER ME?"

Yami retorted, cooly, "What made you choose Bakura over me?"

"You should be worrying right now. At least his kisses feel exhilirating, not flat and boring! He listened to me when I cried! You are such a liar!"

"And you are such a fucking hypocrite! You _kissed _Bakura? Has he made you lose your mind? What the fuck happened? And why in Ra's name did you kiss him? Were you just trying to spite me?"

Before Yugi could speak, Yami said, "Bring him out. Let me see what he has to say before I kill him."

Yugi gasped, "But that might kill me! The ring is still in my chest!"

Yami glared cooly, "I don't care. This is the last time he'll ever steal something of mine again."

**A/N: YAY Drama, excitement, passion! (but not necessarily the good kind of passion)…**

**KEEP READING AND REVIEWING FOR MORE!**


	8. Chapter 8

***disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh. A/N: Sorry if this chapter is rushed. I just really wanted to write and it's kinda late! Tomorrow is my birthday so so excited. I won't feel better until I finish this chapter…even if it takes a few hours…I hope it was worth the wait. I have been busy lately…***

**Chapter 8**

**By FIALT**

"Give it to me, Yugi. We can get rid of him! He is evil! I bet he threatened you so you wouldn't tell me…" Yami tried to reason with his hikari, but he only saw a scared Yugi, clutching his chest in protection.

"You said you'd hurt me just to get your hands on the Ring! I'm sorry, but if you take the Ring out, it will kill me. That's the only way you can get it. Right now, I'm not protecting him. I'm protecting me."

Yami frowned at Yugi, "Well, will he come out if I ask?"

"Nope. I'm trying to hide all of this from him. I learned how to block my thoughts from any link when I was with you all that time. I mean, everyone needs privacy." Yugi started to drone on incessantly, until Yami realized that the little hikari was panicking.

"Relax, Yugi." Yami's comforting tone brought Yugi to tears and he held onto Yami's waist.

"He's mad I took you back *sniff*…He said you would hurt me again *cough*…and he was right…but he was…angry…and said some things…threats, like you said…Please, Yami. Don't make me make him more upset. Plee*hiccup*…" Yugi's panicked whispers and broken sobs made Yami want to cry, so Yami finally said, "I don't think we should go out anymore. It won't work with him here…Maybe we should just stay close, like friends…Do you think that will keep him at bay?"

"I don't *hiccup* know…" Yugi hid his face in Yami's chest, trying not to imagine other girls there. Just Yami. His protector. His other half.

Not his lover.

"As long as you're safe, I'll accept this. But you aren't safe right now. So I _need _to be nearby. If Bakura comes out, we might need to play a Shadow Game."

"No!" Yugi yelled, frantic. "If you got hurt because of me…even if he got hurt because of me…I could never live with that. Please do NOT fight with him!"

Yami frowned, and didn't make any promises to avoid fighting. He just implied, "If I need to, I will."

"Last resort, Yami." Yugi said in an almost condescending tone, like a mother chastising her child. Yami replied, "Fine. Do you want me to stay at the house? Oh, I almost forgot, Grandpa left this on the fridge when I got back…" Yami handed a piece of paper. Ryou offered up his place to Yami and Yugi read the letter:

_ Dear Yugi,_

_ I'll be gone a couple of days on another excavation trip in Egypt! Ishizu Ishtar invited me to stay where she lives for a while. I didn't want to miss this great opportunity! Call me if you need me! Money's in the box. Leave the store closed._

_ Grandpa_

"Oh. Okay…Uh…I'll be fine…" Yugi couldn't relax, knowing he would be completely alone with the spirit of the Ring. He had to admit he was deathly afraid of the former thief and the threat he held. Yami said, "Well, we have to go. Ryou has homework to finish. I'll come back every few days to check on you, alright? Call me if you need anything." _Slam. _They were gone.

Yugi felt sick knowing that his only shred of mercy was on a trip in Egypt, thousands of miles away. Now Bakura could do what he wanted, and he wouldn't have to worry about covering it all up.

Yugi sorted his deck and ran into the 'Change of Heart' first. "What, are the cards trying to tell me something?" He flipped to the next card, 'Monster Reborn'. "This is kinda fun…" Yugi flipped to the next card, 'Polymerization'.

"So, let's see…" Yugi thought in his head. "Someone will have a change of heart, and then change themselves, and then…what could Polymerization do? Well, it was fun while it lasted…"

Yugi placed the cards back in their places and looked at the clock. "Time sure flies…" Yugi couldn't help but stare at the time: 7 o'clock. He felt the darkness rise and knew it was time for whatever Bakura planned.

_Meanwhile back in the Ring_

"What should I give that little twerp? This guy…" Bakura scoffed at the mortal's stupidity. "What can I do to him? He will just get hurt again…"

Bakura didn't want to hurt Yugi. Not really. Who he really wanted to hurt was the pharaoh. He would pay. For everything.

"I'll just get the pharaoh. If Yugi took him back and they are together again, then the pharaoh will be home. I'll just attack there…" Forgetting his previous threat to Yugi, he left the Ring, eyes set on the pharaoh…

_Back with Yugi_

Yugi paced the room. Wind gushed from a window that flew open. Yugi's blood ran cold seeing the menacing face of Bakura. "Please…" Yugi whispered, fear uncontrollable. The threats racked his brain. "Please don't follow through with all the threats..."

It took a moment for Bakura to realize why Yugi looked so scared. Then he remembered and replied, "Right…uh, don't worry about that. You don't look all that great afraid…Anyway, where's the pharaoh?"

"What?" Yugi asked, perplexed. _Wasn't Bakura just telling me he was going to…do things with me and kill me? _Seeing Yugi's reaction, he spoke slower, "Where. Is. The. Pharaoh? He's here isn't he?"

Yugi, remembering the decision to not be together anymore, said dejectedly, "We just aren't compatible so he's staying at Ryou's place…I don't think we should be together anyway though. He just doesn't care enough…"

Bakura's jaw slackened, "What the hell? You said you were going to take him back, and then you don't….Then, you let him stay at my hikari's place…oh…" Bakura had trouble processing it. _What is making this twerp change his mind all of a sudden…?_

Seeing Bakura's look made Yugi reiterate, "We're still going to be friends. We just need some space for a while. I think I need to get used to him being with someone else…He said he's going to visit every couple days here though…"

Bakura grew suspicious, realizing he did not know anything about the situation, "Did you hide this from me?"

Yugi shrunk back and said quietly, "Well, you were in the Ring, and I felt that there was no need to disturb you..."

"Bullshit." Bakura said, "Fill me in on what I missed."

Yugi explained very quickly (A/N: If you've been reading up to here, you'll already know the situation), "Well, '. *Breath* . *Breath* . *Breath* Andthenhedecidedweshouldn''thavetofight…"

Bakura stared at Yugi, dumbstruck. First, he was surprised at himself for catching every word. Every. Single. One. Second, he was surprised at all he missed. Bakura smirked and asked, "So, I'm a better kisser than the pharaoh?"

Yugi blushed and attempted to make a feeble excuse, "Well, I was practically drunk when I said it…"

"Speaking of which," Bakura asked lightly, "Are you any better? If you had to take medicine, you were sick right?"

Yugi looked down, "After you left for the Ring I just passed out. Yami found me, but he didn't even see the Ring. He just heard me say I had it. He called Ryou for help. After the medicine, everything just went downhill. He even wanted to call you out, but I thought you'd still be mad at me, so I didn't want to risk anything…"

Bakura cleared his throat, almost embarrassed, "Yeah, I was pissed. I just wasn't really pissed at you. Bloody pharaoh was the one I wanted to hurt, hence, me asking where the pharaoh was. Sorry about taking my anger out on you, hikari." Realizing what he said, he gasped, holding a hand over his mouth.

"Sor—" Bakura tried to say, but Yugi shrugged it off, "It's fine. Technically, I am your hikari now…" Yugi laughed, and then a headache hit. Hard.

"Unghhh…" Yugi moaned and sat on the bed, trying hard to breathe. Looking around seeing the medicine bottle, he took two pills. Not seeing any water, he asked Bakura, "Do you think you can get me some water?"

Bakura, panicked in a good and bad way at watching his hikari's face flush pink, tiptoed back into the living room. When he noticed everything was still, he walked calmly up to the fridge, filled a glass, and went back upstairs. "It's oddly quiet down there. Where's your grandfather?"

"In…Egypt…Excavation…Ishizu…" Yugi's breath became ragged and he whispered, "I think my panicking made me forget about being sick…heh…Thanks," Yugi motioned to the water. Swallowing the pills, he laid in bed.

Bakura frowned when he touched Yugi's head. He could see his hikari was burning up. "Don't worry. If you need anything, let me know." He lightly bent down to Yugi's forehead and placed a gentle, soothing kiss on the soft skin before Yugi fell into a slumber once again.

A/N: Sorry it was so short...I hope this chapter was good! The next chapter will be so fun to write!


	9. c h a p t e r  n i n e

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! Kinda obvious now…

**A/N: **I think only a few more chapters left! Thank you for everyone who has commented up until now. Sorry it took so long. I originally wrote chapter nine around the beginning of June…and then I realized I made the biggest mistake ever! I had Bakura completely solid…and I didn't know how to explain anything within the chapter and I couldn't fit anything together…and it was so perfect except for that *sob*...so hard to write it gave me writers block…so then I came up with this change eventually. It will end the story better (but there are still a few chapters left if there aren't any unexpected changes *cough* but I may write a sequel). Well, I hope you like this chapter! Sorry it took FOREVER! *No pun intended there =P And sorry it's short. I'll make the others longer…

**Chapter 9**

**By ForeverIsALongTime**

Yugi felt Bakura's lips touch his forehead gently. The world grew hazy. Yugi opened his eyes and a thick fog prevented him from seeing anything except Bakura.

_Wow, he looks great with the mist…_Yugi eyed Bakura's pale chest and mussed hair. _Everything is white…So peaceful…_

Yugi stared into Bakura's eyes and felt lips touch his own. Yugi felt the electricity like he always did, the familiar spark. He noticed it was duller, though. Lips suddenly trailed to Yugi's neck, causing him to blush.

Yugi's thoughts were wild. _Why can't I pull away? Why don't I want to pull away?_

"Mmm…Bakura…Ahhh…" Yugi felt Bakura's strong hands trail softly down his back, tracing his spine. A trail of butterfly kisses placed gently on his chest left Yugi breathless.

Yugi felt a sudden pinch and laughed, "What was that?" _How is this so real? _He couldn't help but think to himself. Looking down, he saw a mischievous smile play on Bakura's lips. He slowly rose to nuzzle his face into Yugi's neck and bit softly again. Yugi couldn't stop giggling as Bakura's hair brushed his face.

Yugi noticed when the electricity completely faded and his vision blurred.

"Oh, crap!" Yugi said bluntly, jolting upright in the bed. "What the…" He looked at the time. 9 o'clock. A. M.

He sat up straighter, repositioning himself. "I missed school…Oops…"

"Hey, you feeling any better? You're all flushed. Don't worry about school. Ryou probably already called. He knows you're sick. He's pretty reliable…" Blinking, Yugi rubbed his eyes and said, "I'm fine. Thanks for letting me know..." He vaguely felt the surprise, considering he felt completely fine after being sick for a while. He avoided brown inquiring eyes.

_Too soon. _

Bakura frowned, "Are you sure you're not sick?" He felt Yugi's forehead and said, "You aren't warm. Take it easy today, alright?" Yugi nodded. _Way too soon…_

_ I hope he didn't notice my dream last night…_

Bakura smirked, "You had a dream?" Yugi didn't respond when he realized he left the link open and Bakura continued, "It must've been good. You were smiling all night…This morning you are all red, like a tomato…Wanna talk about it?"

"Nope." Yugi turned scarlet again.

"Alright. Well, I'm going back into the Ring." With that, Bakura's transparent form disappeared.

"Phew, that was close." Yugi got up and walked into the kitchen to make some breakfast.

_Back in the Ring_

Bakura stared up at the "ceiling" of the Ring. He recalled Yugi's blushing form. When Yugi was asleep, unbeknownst to the hikari, Bakura heard his name being called by Yugi. _Sounded really sexy…_Bakura couldn't help but think when he heard it. Curiosity led to Bakura silently watching the rest of the dream…

Bakura smirked, "Well, at least I'm nicer to him in dreams than in reality I guess…It was really white…like Yugi was on cloud nine or something…"

Realizing something, Bakura frowned, "But…aren't dreams unconscious desires? Shit…what do I do?" He thought about Yugi's enticing reaction to the kiss and wanted to really give him one…and go farther…

_Fuck. I am no good for him. I have to stop all of this madness…_

_Back with Yugi_

Trying to rationalize (or deny), Yugi said, "Maybe it was because I was sick…Yeah…I was totally out of it. That's why I dreamed about Bakura." He couldn't' keep flashes of Bakura's sexy form away from his thoughts and his mind went straight to the gutter.

_Maybe…maybe I do really…love Bakura…_This revelation was shocking to him. He couldn't even deny it. He didn't get a chance to.

The phone rang. Yugi jumped when he heard it and answered in a shaky voice, "Hello?"

"Yo, you are still alive! Thank the gods there was an answer. From you, not the idiot theif…" Yugi could hear Yami's relief so he ignored the last comment about Bakura.

"Yup, I'm fine." Yugi spoke in a firmer voice. "I'm not hurt or anything…" Yugi heard the Ring stir, but decided to ignore it. Seeing Bakura, he looked away. He felt his heart tug. He recognized the feeling when he had a (thought to be) unrequited love for his previous yami.

"So, there's this party. Joey wanted me to invite you. It's Kaiba's thing. You know, being rich and all. We're all invited." Yugi could hear an uncertainty in the last sentence, but he ignored it.

"Sure, I'll go. When is it? It'll be great to catch up with the guys again, ya know?" Yugi smiled to himself.

"Tomorrow. Nine at night up until one in the morning. Crazy, right? So late…or early, I guess…"

Yugi looked uncertain, but still missed his friends, so he said, "I'll be there."

"Ah…Yugi?"

"Yeah? What's up?"

The uncertain tone was back, "Can you not bring the Ring?" Yugi knew he meant Bakura. Yugi peeked cautiously at Bakura, who seemed to be totally infatuated with the microwave and it's power.

"I'll see…Probably…"

"Great. Everyone hopes to see you there! It really has been a while. Since you've been sick for a while…"

Yugi hung up. He was about to ask Bakura what he thought once he filled him in on the conversation, but Bakura said, "Go ahead. I'll remove the Ring as painlessly as possible." His gaze and concentration never left the microwave. The link was blocked. Yugi couldn't tell what the former thief was thinking.

Yugi sighed, "Are you okay with this? You seem a little too interested in the microwave…"

"Relax. It's no big deal. Besides, I think finding a better host is necessary right now…" Looking over, he saw the hurt in Yugi's eyes. "Awww man. Come on, I didn't mean it like that, Yugi. You should know that. With the pharaoh on my ass, I think…You…You just deserve a break. This—" motioning back and forth to himself and Yugi "—it can't work. I'm just sorry I let it go on for so long…" Yugi saw a flash of pain cross Bakura's features, but he didn't pay attention. His heart began to pound as a feeling of rejection washed over him like the ocean, large and all-consuming.

Bakura thought, _This will be for the best. I'm not good enough to have Yugi as my own…I'll only cause problems for his future…I'm his only problem right now. I need to leave. Soon._ The pain Bakura felt didn't show to Yugi. Yugi could only think, _Why can't this work? You, You're…always honest, even if it's blunt…You comforted me…and I trusted you. But, I guess my affection was only one-sided. I'm just causing him problems…_

Yugi looked down, resigned.

"You'll have a new host by tomorrow night."

Bakura looked up, shocked and said sharply:

"Fine."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N**: _Wow, I'm really getting into new shippings! If anyone likes reading Kleptoshipping (what I'm writing) or Boundshipping (Thief Bakura x Yugi) I beg you to write more! I don't know why, but I like this pairing. Anyway, I wrote chapter 10 on paper. Then I did my APBio summer homework. It's eleven thirty at night and I'm getting used to staying up late, I guess, so I'm typing up chapter 10 for your enjoyment! I hope you enjoy it, but I'm guessing you readers won't because of the stuff I did, that people didn't want me to do. *goes to hide* don't worry though! *** Please be optimistic for the future! XD *** __**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own YGO or there would be a lot of fun couples running around!_

**Chapter 10**

For the rest of the day, Yugi walked around the house, trying to talk to Bakura. Bakura noticed, but tried to avoid Yugi's eyes. Finally, though, he asked, "What's wrong?" Bakura was surprised to see an anxious expression on his hikari's face.

"Well, I mean, isn't there another…Do we really have to split up? Isn't there a way to compromise with everyone?" Bakura almost smiled at the innocence. _Yugi's trying to make everything better. Even for me…_

Bakura looked into Yugi's eyes, pure amethyst jewels. Trying not to lose his resolve, he said, "I'm not wanted. This whole thing started because you wanted to help Ryou. It was a stupid mistake for both of us and life will be better when it is all over." _Lies. Lies. Lies._

Yugi fought back tears and said fiercely, "You think all of this was a mistake?" Hurt crossed his delicate features as he thought, _You helped me so much with your honesty…_Yugi couldn't focus on anything except for the words Bakura chose. Mistake. It was all a mistake. Yugi nodded, "Fine. If that's how you really feel, then let's end this now. Remove the Ring from my chest."

Bakura looked away with tears in his eyes and replied, "Fine." _I can't tell him, can't tell. I love him, I LOVE YOU, YUGI!_

Yugi left the room, preparing bandages and cleaning supplies. Bakura crouched, running a hand through his chaotic white locks. "Fuck, why'd I do that? He…He needs to hate me. This is the only way we can both let go…It'll be easier for me to leave if he hates me and wishes for me to be gone…

He'll have a better life without me…" Bakura was doing this out of love. He no longer denied his feelings, because they were real. He wanted Yugi to marry a beautiful person and have lovely children, and have a fulfilling life.

_Impossible, if he chose me, a petty thief. _His heart hurt. It would forever belong to Yugi. He knew there would be no room for anyone else. Once the separation was complete, Bakura knew he could never love again.

Bakura looked up at Yugi with cold eyes and asked, "Are you ready?" Yugi flinched at Bakura's expression, but he nodded. He removed his shirt and laid down on the bed, chest fully exposed.

Bakura bit back tears, seeing Yugi's fearful expression. Yugi whispered, "Will it hurt?" Knowing this would be the last time he would hear Yugi's voice for himself, he didn't respond. His voice would break. He would choke. He could barely think to himself, _I'll make sure it's physically painless. This is all I can do._

Bakura climbed on the bed silently. Laying a hand on the Ring and Yugi's chest, he closed his eyes, using Shadow magic to extract the Ring painlessly from Yugi's chest.

Yugi noted to himself that the physical sensation was dull in itself, but the emotional separation was terrifying. Yugi felt something wet on his cheek. He looked up to see Bakura crying soundlessly. Tears ran down his cheeks, but nothing else indicated the former thief was weeping. Before Yugi could wipe the tears away, Bakura opened his eyes and jumped from the bed.

The Ring was in his hand.

Yugi lunged to try and grab the Ring, but instead his skin brushed skin. Bakura was real and tangible. Like a living human being. Yugi's excitement got the best of him. He tried to touch Bakura's face but Bakura pulled away. Without a host, he felt empty, and wanted to find one. Fast. He tried to avoid Yugi's touches because he knew he'd just give the Ring back if it meant filling the emptiness in his soul.

Yugi finally was able to speak, "…How is this possible?"

"Only way to find a host. I'm worse than a virus. It's like hunting for prey." Bakura's words were icy and venomous. Trying to keep Yugi away. He watched Yugi reach for the Ring and took a step back. He warned, "Don't make the same mistake twice, twerp." _Hate. Hate. Hate. _"I won't let it happen again!" His voice rose, laced with a light panic.

Yugi took another step forward. Bakura's response was taking two steps back. Like a dance. He didn't want to second guess himself. He couldn't. It was too late. The deed was done.

"Bloody hell, "Bakura muttered in pain, realizing he knocked himself into the dresser. _I forgot how much that could hurt. Stupid mortals. _He quickly scanned his arm for a bruise and looked up in surprise.

Yugi's face was only a few centimeters away from his own. Bakura panicked, and could only think, _Push him away. Run. Don't look back. Don't think about the hot breath you can now feel…Don't…think about…his skin you could touch…_

"Do we still have a link until you find a new host?" Yugi asked Bakura innocently.

Trying (unsuccessfully) to regain his senses, Bakura nodded, "Yes, we still do. But I always block my side and you always block yours. It would be strange if we used them now…" Yugi's hitched breath caressed his skin. Tempting him.

Before he could stop him, Yugi grabbed Bakura's elbow that was hit up against the dresser. _Don't think. Don't think. This is bad. It hurt—_

Yugi's feathery touches did not hurt as they trailed from Bakura's elbow to his wrist. Yugi was in awe at the fact he could _touch _Bakura, and was wishing he could make the "mistake" again with the Ring. He again attempted to grab the Ring (only a few millimeters from his hand) but Bakura grabbed Yugi's wrists and flipped their positions, effectively pinning Yugi to the wall. The gold touched Yugi's skin, and he hoped it wasn't cold because of Bakura's soul.

Yugi squirmed, trying to fight off Bakura. _Let…go…Wow, he's strong…Ugh…Ouch!_ "Owww, Kura, you're hurting me!" Yugi desperately wanted to keep the man in his place, so he didn't exactly say _Let go. _

Unfortunately, Bakura quickly let go and took a step back toward the door. He paused. Realizing what Yugi said, he asked, "What did you just call me?" _Kura…is that a pet name? _Bakura thought tiredly.

Yugi shook his head, rubbing his wrists. He wouldn't repeat it. He didn't know why.

Before Yugi got a chance to say anything else, he heard the door to the bedroom slam. He lagged behind, so he yelled, "Bakura! Where do you intend to go? How are you going to survive with no money?"

The front door opened. Yugi almost tripped down the stairs. Seeing Bakura, he was about to run again, but a wall made thick from the shadows was holding him back. Bakura was frozen in the doorway, staring at Yugi.

Bakura replied in dead silence, "I'm going to find a host." _Slam._

He was gone.

Yugi broke down into tears, feeling a hole in his heart only Bakura could fill.

_Next Day/Day of Party_

Bakura looked around. Everything was cold. He was aching from head to toe. He didn't eat the whole day before because he was thinking about Yugi. And he was currently having the worst luck finding a necessary host.

He had become picky. No one suited his tastes. All he could think about was Yugi. He couldn't focus on the task at hand: If he didn't find a host, his soul would fade and he would die. Or he'd have to lock his soul _back _into the Ring for who-knows how long. Neither option sounded appealing, so he wished he could find a host. Soon.

Bakura looked around and saw a breath-taking yacht. He didn't look at any logo on it, and only sought shelter. _Maybe I'll find a host. First, I need food and shelter. _

A woman, who looked like an office aid, opened the door, "Wow! Are you alright, kiddo? Come on in!" Her chirpy voice was already giving Bakura a headache. _Too happy…_

Bakura walked to a lounging area and looked at a clock on the wall. Five thirty in the evening. Bakura groaned. "Do you have any food?" His head started to pound. Lack of water and food was a bad combo.

"We have a lot. The question really is: should I give you some?"

Bakura recognized the deep CEO's voice amidst the pounding in his ears.

"I'm surprised you of all people didn't see that this yacht was rented to me, and that it's property of KaibaCorp. Did you hear I'm hosting a party tonigh—"

Bakura blacked out before hearing the rest.

**A/N**: _Took me an hour to write and I'm still not sleepy. Lots of editing…I just threw the last part in there. Sounded better plot-wise. Hope you LOVED it! XD Please,_

_R&R, tell me what you think!_


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: **_Wow, I'm just popping out chapters lately! Thank you guys for reading! I'm glad you all like the story ^_^ I didn't want to leave you hanging with that last cliffhanger for too long! This chapter took up a lot of pages in my little notebook, so let's hope it's long enough!_

**Kaiba: **_Why do I always play some important role in a lot of your fics?_

**Me: **_Because you're rich and easy to work with, considering you have everything and can do anything you want. Like screw the rules! XD_

**Kaiba: **_But I can't get out of this fic. So help me…Oh well. Here goes nothing…_

**Chapter 11 **

_A few more hours until the party…_Yugi thought. He checked himself in the mirror.

He looked like hell. His eyes were swollen and red because he'd been crying on and off since Bakura left. His hair was a mess because he'd been laying in bed the whole time. Hating his appearance, Yugi decided to take a shower.

_I hope he's alright…He left with no food or money…_Yugi was pulled from his thoughts when the phone rang. Yugi leaned back in the shower. "Whoever it is can leave a message…" He stood in the shower, letting the hot water relax his nerves.

_But what if it was Bakura? Or a hospital calling about Bakura or the Ring? _Yugi knew the latter was impossible, considering any hospital wouldn't think to call him about anything related to Bakura, but he was still worried. Yugi immediately shut off the water and ran to the phone, adjusting a towel around his waist along the way.

Yugi reached for the phone and really noticed his wrists. They each had matching purple bruises—barely visible, but there. _It was real. Bakura was real…_

Checking the phone, he listened to the automated voice. "You have no new messages and one missed call. Press 1 to return the call."

Yugi pressed 1.

_Ring. Ring. _

"Hello, this is Tracey Morgan, the secretary of Seto Kaiba. How may I help you this fine day?" Yugi laughed at her attitude. The cheer in her voice was contagious. He couldn't deny the disappointment though, because he had secretly hoped it was Bakura's voice on the other end. He cleared his throat, curious as to why Kaiba called him. "Hello, this is Yugi. Did Kaiba call me not too long ago? I was…in the shower, so I missed his call."

"Please hold." There was a click, leaving Yugi waiting in abrupt silence. After a few minutes, someone picked up the phone.

"Hey, Yugi. Are you coming to my party?" Kaiba's deep voice questioned. Yugi thought he heard something off in Kaiba's voice but didn't think anything of it.

"Um…I guess. I mean, I was invited, right?" Another voice he couldn't recognize was on the other side, whispering something inaudible.

"Yup, just checking. Anyway, yeah…" Yugi realized Kaiba was wanting to say something. Yugi cleared his throat loudly, "Is that all?"

"Um…yeah. See you tonight, I guess." _Okay…_Yugi stared into the phone, _That was very…odd. Very out-of-character for him…_

Deciding to relax, he put thoughts of Bakura in the back of his mind and attacked his leather for the party.

_Back with Bakura_

Bakura looked at the white ceiling in the dimly lit room. He groaned; sitting up proved to be challenging. Scanning the neat room, he thought, _where am I? _His thought process stopped abruptly when he felt pangs in his stomach and a pressure in his skull.

"Fuck…"

"Nice language, former Thief King." The bedroom door clicked shut. Bakura laughed, seeing Kaiba decked out in his usual attire but wearing a purple coat instead of the usual white one. Kaiba added, "So I called Yugi—since I heard from your situation from Joey, who heard from Yami—"

"Get to the point!" Bakura was getting impatient with the former priest, and was getting hungrier, too.

Kaiba continued, "So, I called Yugi from the secretary's phone not long ago. He didn't pick up. Do you know if he left the house or something?"

"Bakura shoved the worry he felt to the back of his mind and said viciously, "How the hell should I know? He's probably getting ready for your party as we speak." _If someone's hurting him, I'll kill them. I'll enjoy it, too._

Kaiba was about to say something, but was interrupted from outside.

_Ring. Ring. _

"Tracey, did you get that?"

The chirpy voice from before spoke in the phone. "Please hold." Yelling to Kaiba: "It's Yugi! Didn't you just call him? He was in the shower, so he couldn't take the call."

Bakura mentally slapped himself for feeling relief. _I don't care. I wasn't worried to begin with. _

Kaiba had the call forwarded. Bakura looked at the blinking light on the phone next to his bed, laying innocently on the bedside table. Kaiba picked up said object and said, "Hey, Yugi. Are you coming to the party?" Great ice-breaker.

"Um…I guess. I mean, I was invited, right?" Bakura heard the voice. He could see Yugi talking on the phone, like he had no cares in the world. He groaned, still hungry, and whispered to Kaiba, "Don't tell Yugi I'm here."

Kaiba looked frustrated and mouthed: I called him for you! You're not my problem! He spoke into the receiver, "Yup. Just checking. Anyway…yeah…" He glared at Bakura, fully pissed off. Bakura face-palmed at the awkward silence.

"Is that all?"

Kaiba rolled his eyes at the former thief and replied, "Um…yeah, I guess. See you tonight." He slammed the phone back onto the holder.

"I called him to come get you! Now he thinks I'm nice…ugh…" Kaiba shivered in disgust.

"Well, he's not my host anymore," Bakura said, regret lacing his voice. Kaiba shrugged, "Not my problem or my business. Does that mean I call Ryou?"

"No! He'll probably hate it, coming here to get me. Or he'll gloat, saying I deserve everything I got…"

"Well, you do. Trying to destroy the world, resurrecting Zorc. Hell, trying to kill Yugi." Kaiba stated matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, well, I don't need someone to _rub my face in it. _Thanks a lot for that, by the way. That's the point. And, I am fucking starving!"

Kaiba turned around, picking up a tray he brought in when he entered. "Yeah, I figured. You look like crap, even now. Here, all we have is an extra steak. The rest of them are for the party…"

Bakura attacked it (A/N: If anyone saw the YouTube video, there is one. It shows Bakura attacking a steak. It's called "Bakura's Forbidden Scene". Picture that XD). Kaiba grimaced, "You don't eat…politely."

"And you are not a starving, pissed 5,000-year-old spirit suffering, Mr. State-the-Obvious." Bakura shot back.

After the steak was gone and Bakura was drinking some water, Kaiba smirked, "So you and Yugi got into a lovers' quarrel?" The water Bakura was in the middle of drinking was currently sprayed on Kaiba's jacket. A coughing fit ensued.

Kaiba removed his purple jacket. "So you really do love him…If it helps, I think I'm the only one who noticed. I'd definitely be one of the few to actually believe it."

Bakura (finally able to speak) replied, "I…" Glaring, he admitted, "Fine, I love Yugi. Whatever. But I'm done with it. We're separated now. There is nothing binding us together…"

Kaiba knocked on the door. "Did you guys get all that?" Motioning to Bakura, he added, "You were stupid to leave him."

Ryou and Yami stormed into the room. Bakura screamed bloody murder, "FUCK. YOU, KAIBA!" and threw the tray holding the food he ate earlier straight at the door. Kaiba shut the door before the tray could hit him. The door was left with a visible dent. Bakura fell into the sheets, waiting for horror to come, for once wishing he was in the Shadow Realm. Anywhere away from the two pairs of inquiring, skeptical eyes.

"Told you, Yami. _My yami _doesn't just kiss anybody. Even for torture. He never did that to me. Right, Bakura?" Ryou's voice was confident and sure.

Said thief king was seething.

Yami walked up to him. Bakura conjured some Shadow Magic, prepared for a fight. Yami shook his head. Bakura mentally noted, _he looks…solemn._

"Don't take him for granted." Yami finally said. "Don't hurt him like I did."

Bakura looked up, genuinely surprised. "Can I do one thing real fast?"

Yami nodded.

Bakura slammed a fist into Yami's face, and then said, "That's for making Yugi cry. He came to me after you cheated on him. I just felt that was necessary, and frankly, I feel alittle better."

Bakura continued, "We're not connected anymore…Wait. Why are you still solid, human? It's been a while. Shouldn't you be dead without a host?"

Yami cradled his face, but said, "We're conditioned to finding hosts. But now, we don't need one to live. It feels desolate without sharing a body or soul with a person because we're used to it, but we can live."

"What the bloody hell? Does that mean Malik is still around?" Bakura was bewildered at this new information. "And what made me feel like crap earlier? I passed out. Cold. At Kaiba's doorstep, no less."

Ryou answered, "I don't know what happened to Malik. He shouldn't be around, considering he was just a part of Marik. It's not like we're that close with him, though. And you hadn't eaten for a couple of days when you passed out, remember?"

Yami tried talking to Bakura, "It feels empty, living without sharing a soul, right? Your mind is all your own…"

Ryou grabbed Bakura's hand.

Bakura laughed, feeling freer than he had in a long time, "Okay. Wow. Now what?"

Ryou pulled his arm and replied, "You need to get ready for a party. Let's go back to the old apartment I still live in! Unless you forgot where it was, considering you've been living with Yugi for a while…"

The three of them went back to Ryou's apartment to get ready.

_This time, I'll tell you I love you._


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: **_Hello. While I was writing, I decided that I didn't want this to be the last chapter. But here is another couple pages. The next chapter will be the last one! Sorry this chapter was short. I just felt like it would be too rushed if I left it all in one chapter._

**Chapter 12**

"So, what type of party is this?" Bakura frowned, staring at all of Ryou's clothes. He wasn't liking what he saw.

"Normal clothes will work fine for this party." Ryou said nonchalantly.

Bakura frowned, feeling exasperated and still drowsy from the previous events. "But it's not like normal clothes are great for confessing, right?" He felt annoyed at the fact that he wasn't getting anywhere with his wardrobe, when he wanted to look more presentable than usual. Ryou was objecting.

"Honestly, Yugi likes you too. You should be relaxing. Wear anything you want. Yugi won't care!" Ryou couldn't help but feel slightly happy for his yami because he finally acknowledged his feelings for Yugi. He knew that Yugi loved him back, so he knew everything would go smoothly.

Yami ran into the room, holding a small cell phone. "Ryou, please take this. He says he wants to talk to you, check on something." Yami couldn't contain his laughter, so Ryou reluctantly took the phone and walked outside of the room. Bakura pulled his hair and flopped on the bed, "What in Ra's name am I supposed to wear?"

Yami smiled softly, "Yugi won't care, if he loves you…"

"IF." Bakura emphasized. "And," he added, "He loves leather and clothes. I was there in that leather shop. He _loved _looking through all those shelves. Granted, he was looking for something for you, but still. He likes shopping for clothes. Doesn't that mean he likes looking at clothes?" He ignored Yami's questioning look, but said, "He bought you that present, remember? The same pants? Yeah, don't get surprised, but I was there. Hehe…" Bakura chuckled at the memory of seeing Yugi with his pants around his ankles. Then, remembering Yugi's red face from 'crying', he held his head in his hands. "I can't disappoint him…I got it!" His outfit was coming to mind.

Meanwhile, with Ryou:

"Hello, who is this?" Ryou asked in a soft tone. He looked back at the door where his yami was. _I hope he doesn't embarrass himself with a horrendous outfit…_

Ryou almost choked hearing Yugi's voice on the other end. "Hello, Ryou…S-sorry to b-bother you…C-can I...ask you so-something?"

Ryou said, "Sure. Shoot."

"Um…" Yugi's voice was visibly shaking. Ryou was surprised hearing Yugi rush, "Is Bakura there? I need to know he's alright. He left without any money whatsoever, he hadn't eaten anything, and I just…Is he alright? Did he find a host?"

Ryou panicked, not sure how much intel he should share. Finally he said, "Actually, Yami informed me of something. The spirits won't die from lacking a host anymore. There's just a security that comes when sharing a host because it's out of habit. Think about it. Yami would be dead by now, because the bond with you two is broken…"

"I never thought about it that way!" Yugi sounded flustered at hearing the news and said, "I guess I shouldn't worry about Bakura then…right? Gah…I don't think I can go to this party and pretend to be happy. My face probably looks like a tomato…That's it. I'm not going!"

Ryou practically screamed into the phone, "You have to go to this party! If you don't…well, YOU BETTER COME YUGI! Everyone wants to see you!" Ryou didn't hear the door click.

"Ryou, why the hell are you yelling? Guess what! Here's a reason to yell! I found a perfect outfit to wear to the party!" Bakura's voice was fairly loud and laced with enthusiasm.

A cough was heard through the phone and Ryou cursed, "…Shit!" Yugi took an audible breath, and then yelled, "IS THAT WHO I THINK IT IS?"

Bakura heard Yugi's voice through the phone and whispered, "Don't tell him I'm here."

Ryou whirled on Bakura, "It's your fault I'm partially deaf now! Take the damn phone, you chicken!" Bakura retorted, "Hey, who are you calling chicken? And he's yelling at you, not me!" More yelling poured through the receiver, "I'VE BEEN WORRYING THIS WHOLE DAMN TIME FOR NO FUCKING REASON? FORGET IT! I'M NOT IN THE PARTYING MOOD ANYWAY!" _click._

"Wai—t!" Bakura yelled into the small device, but could only hear the dial tone. "Ughhh…" Bakura moaned, "I have a headache…Fuck, he better come to this party. I have the right outfit and everything!"

Ryou gasped at Bakura's outfit. A tight form-fitting white shirt paired with dark blue jeans and black convers. Simple, but very flattering.

"See? Great outfit, right?" Bakura glared at the phone, and suddenly it was gone.

"What the—Bakura, where's the phone? Oh my god…just like the microwave…" Ryou face-palmed.

"That stupid device is the cause of all my immediate problems. It ruined my happiness. So what if I sent it to the Shadow Realm? And besides, you know that the microwave wasn't cooperating. I pushed the right numbers and everything…"

Ryou glared, "A microwave isn't living…You can't blame inanimate object for your problems. Besides, that was Yami's phone!"

Bakura repeated, "Again, so what if I sent it to the Shadow Realm?"

Ryou looked utterly defeated, knowing from any past experience he wouldn't win over his Yami. "Well, we have to do something. I have a plan. Can you just go with it? I don't want to tell you. We can't have it ruined."

Bakura gave in, feeling just as defeated as his hikari, "I will never win against Yugi. Fine, I'll do what you ask…"

"Good. First thing's first. Go tell Yami you sent his phone to the Shadow Realm."

*A minute later back in Ryou's Room*

"NOOOOOOOO! IDIOTIC THIEF!" Yami yelled.

"So, what's next?" Bakura asked.

*Back with Yugi*

"I knew going to this party would be a bad idea. Hmmm…" He couldn't get Bakura's voice out of his head. Sounding healthy. And very, very excited over something...What was it? Clothes…right clothes…for the party? Just hearing his voice made Yugi extremely happy, even if he did yell at the two.

Yugi's heart fluttered, thinking that _the real, living Bakura _would be going to that stupid party. He questioned himself, "I'm completely ready for this party. Shouldn't I just go?"

"Nah, there's no real point anyway. I'm _really _not in the partying mood. I wonder if Bakura's mad at me. We left things in a bad place. He sounded happy enough without me, though…Damn. I hate worrying like this!"

The time for the party came and went, with Yugi dressed for fun, but holed up in his room.

*Back with Bakura, Yami, and Ryou*

"So, you have the Ring?" Ryou confirmed.

"Yes." Bakura replied. "Why do I need it?"

"You'll see." Yami smiled at the former thief.

Bakura held his stomach, "I'm getting nervous now. I don't think I can tell him after all. Shit, I can't do this! Ryou, help me! What do I do?"

Ryou turned to the backseat, where Bakura sat, panicking, and said harshly, "You will do this! Stop acting like a girl, and start acting like _you_. It's strange for you to be nervous. Completely out of character. So pull it together! He loves you back, I can guarantee it!"

Bakura nodded, but was still panicking. He looked out the window and frowned, "Hey, this isn't the way to the party. I remember driving back. This definitely isn't the way."

Yami smiled inwardly, but said, completely composed, "This is a shortcut."

"Oh…" Bakura nodded in understanding. _I can do this…right?_

*Yugi's House/Game Shop*

Yugi immediately heard a car pull up, and then leave. Looking out his window, he gasped at a screaming Bakura, yelling a string of curses at the departing car. Smiling, he ran to the shop door and opened it and ran back to his room, watching the scene unfold.

"Why the hell did you leave me here? How am I supposed to get to the party now? Yugi probably isn't even home! I wanted to see him there at the party! Not after the party was completely over!"

Bakura turned around and trudged up to the store door. To his surprise, the door was open. He slowly opened the door and entered, thinking _Yugi would have closed the door if he left the house…which means…_

"Yugi?" Bakura called. Nothing in the living room indicated a presence. Grasping the Millennium Ring around his neck, he cautiously walked forward and called, "There better not be a robber in this place! I'll send you to the Shadow Realm if you touch any of Yugi's belongings!"

A chuckle was heard in Yugi's room. Bakura dashed up the stairs without thinking. Breathing hard, he looked up at a smiling Yugi.

"Hello, Bakura! Welcome back!" Yugi's chipper voice registered in his mind. His outfit was attire fit for the awesome party that was going on at that very moment.

Bakura was left staring in shock.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: **_This will be the last chapter! Awww *cries* I hope I'll make a sequel one day! I hope this ending will be good because I know that sometimes stories end, and they just aren't that satisfying…_

**Chapter 13**

"Hey…" Bakura muttered softly. His heart was pounding hard and fast.

Yugi frowned and asked, "Are you alright? You left without any money or food. At least you aren't dead without a host…" Yugi held back tears of joy, seeing Bakura alive.

"Well," Bakura coughed, "Actually, about that…Funny story…"

Yugi looked up in anticipation and confusion. Bakura continued, "See, the thing is…I sorta passed out. In front of Seto Kaiba's yacht. You know, the one that was supposed to be for the party? I got a steak out of it though. That was the real reason why he called you; he wanted you to pick me up. If you heard someone whispering on the other end, it was me…"

Yugi nodded and looked at his toes, "So…is that why you're dressed up a little? Was that what I heard about, that you had the perfect outfit for a party?" Yugi couldn't help but chuckle.

"It's great, right? Subtle, but it works! You look great too. Decided to ditch leather and opt for something nicer? I heard the party was casual." Something registered in his mind and he asked, "You heard that? And wait, I thought you were mad I was there? I thought you weren't going to the party because of me…Is that why you're here at home?"

"Yup. We would've matched." Yugi was dressed in a white button-down shirt with some black jeans. A dark blue blazer lay on the floor, so Bakura assumed Yugi was going to wear that with it. Yugi added, "I'm not mad, I was just…surprised. Plus, I really wasn't in the partying mood tonight…Too much excitement. What happened at Kaiba's place?"

"Okay, get this! That asshole tricked me into saying I—" Bakura froze. _Crap, I can't tell him. Damn…no, I can do this! Okay, screw it. _"He called the pharaoh and Ryou to pick me up—without me knowing—and practically gave me a pep talk in front of them. They popped out when I said something, and I actually got to punch the pharaoh! Best. Night. Ever. Then Ryou took me home so I could go to the party!"

"Wait," Yugi's head was spinning with questions, "First, what could Kaiba trick you into saying? Second, why did you punch the pharaoh? Third, why do you want to go to the party? Fourth, is it true I heard you threatening any thieves that came into the house? That was funny!" Yugi smiled, remembering Bakura yell that he'd send them to the Shadow Realm. "You're the only thief in this house."

Bakura frowned and answered coolly, "You ask too many questions. They all have the same answer anyway. Or rather, they all are a part of the same thing. Just forget it."

Yugi looked down, "Did I make you upset?"

"No."

"Why are you upset?" Yugi felt tears coming on, and held them back.

"I…I'm not upset." Bakura didn't want to explain. He didn't want to tell Yugi how he felt right then.

"You sound upset…" Yugi trailed off.

"Why should I feel upset? I'm not upset, alright? I…I don't know. Just give me a second." Bakura crouched and ran his fingers through his hair, trying to compose his thoughts. _If I'm going to tell him, we need to talk about what happened before I left…No…Fuck, I really don't want to…_

Yugi walked around Bakura and sat on a chair, staring at Bakura's back. In the pocket of his jeans, Yugi could clearly see the Ring. He smiled a little, before asking, "Why'd you bring the Ring?"

"Oh, ah, I don't know, actually…Just thought it'd be something good to bring."

Yugi blushed, "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." _I'm soooo going to regret this, _Bakura thought.

"Well, when you were leaving…Why did you stop me?" Yugi didn't really want to ask, but he knew they had to talk about it. He heard Bakura groan.

"Fuck, why do you ask the hardest questions to answer?" Bakura stood up. Without thinking, Yugi lunged and yelled, "Please don't leave!" Bakura looked down at Yugi's hands, trying to hold his arm in place. Yugi flushed and sat back down, reluctantly letting go of Bakura's arm.

Bakura looked down, thinking, _Wow…that spark is still there…I shouldn't have paid any attention to it…but why did he stop me? _Deciding to voice his questions, he asked, "I have a better question: Why did you try to stop me? Not just then, but now as well?"

"Why do you think?" Yugi suddenly yelled, releasing his emotions. "Do you really think I wanted you to leave? Do you know how much it hurt feeling you gone completely? I mean, when you just said 'fine' to taking the Ring out immediately…I thought you didn't want to see my face again. Calling this a…mista—"*hiccup* "—ke." Bakura watched silently as tears rolled down Yugi's cheeks.

Silence engulfed the room. Bakura wanted desperately to believe Yugi's words, but he still felt doubt, and he was getting more irritated hearing Yugi cry silently. Finally, he snapped and retorted, "You were the one who promised I'd have another host by today, or yesterday! Do you really believe for one second I wanted to even let you go to this party? I was trying to make you happy, and maybe you wouldn't be scared of me anymore if I just gave you this one thing! I never thought this was a mistake! Ra, I just wanted you to hate me so you wouldn't feel upset about my departure. Yugi, I love you!" Bakura slammed his hand on the right side of the desk, using his arm to pin Yugi there.

Bakura cupped Yugi's face and kissed him gently. He smiled when he felt Yugi kiss back. He could taste the salty tears, and felt horrible for making Yugi cry. Pulling away, he vowed, "I will never make you cry again." Yugi only nodded and hugged Bakura around the waist.

"I love you too, 'Kura." Yugi reached around Bakura and grabbed the Ring before breaking from the embrace, laughing. Bakura stared, shocked. "What the—"

Yugi smiled, "Can I put it on again, or will this make you become a spirit again?"

Bakura smirked, "Find out for yourself."

Yugi placed the Ring around his neck and felt his heart become whole again. Before Bakura could stop him, Yugi lunged and kissed Bakura, hard. Bakura's hands trailed down his back gently. When Yugi tipped his face up gently, Bakura buried his face in his neck before biting gently on the pale flesh.

Yugi jumped, "W-w-w-wh-what was th-th-that?"

Bakura laughed, "Well, I heard you call my name a few nights ago. Of course, I couldn't resist, so I got to see an awesome dream about me!"

Watching Bakura laugh at his expense pissed him off, so Yugi slapped him gently and said, "Jerk."

"Awww, don't be like that, Yugi." Bakura hugged him around the waist and laid his chin on Yugi's shoulder. He whispered, "It was a dream I'd love to turn into reality. Only, I'd actually finish it." Smiling deviously, he could only think, _Finally, you're mine._

Yugi turned around, "Oh yeah?" Laughing, Bakura picked Yugi up bridal-style and plopped him on the bed. Bakura took the Ring and placed it on the table next to the bed. Yugi lunged, "Hey!"

Bakura ran his hands under Yugi's shirt, effectively raising it, and whispered, "It'll get in the way." He swiftly unbuttoned the shirt from bottom to top, kissing Yugi the whole time. He then left a trail of butterfly kisses on every inch of Yugi's chest. Yugi ran his fingers through Bakura's hair, thinking, _This is amazing. Better than a dream…_

Bakura's face popped up, millimeters from Yugi's face, and he said, "Thank you!"

Yugi blushed, "Why did you hear that?"

"Because your thoughts are open to me now." /_See?_/ Bakura thought to Yugi. /_We're connected together again. Only this time, it's willingly./_

Yugi smiled and hugged Bakura, "I love you."

_Ding. Ding._

Bakura looked up, "What was that? Is someone trying to rob the house?" Yugi laughed, "No, it's the bell to the shop door. I think someone just wants to know if we're open. Let me check…"

Bakura trailed behind Yugi cautiously. He subconsciously grabbed the Ring.

"Oh. My. Ra." Bakura groaned. "Noooo!"

"Hey, Yugi! Long time no see!" Ryou, Yami, Joey, Mai, and Kaiba stood at the door.

Yugi blushed, realizing that his shirt was still partially unbuttoned and his and Bakura's hair looked anything but tidy. Everyone laughed. Yami frowned, "Are you seriously attacking Yugi already?" Yugi's blush darkened. Bakura huffed and ignored the question, "Why the hell are you all here?"

"Nice way to be, considering it was _my_ idea to help you out!" Ryou said.

Yugi ducked his head and led everyone in. "So, why aren't you all at the party?"

"It was boring with just the five of us." Yami stated bluntly. Everyone glared at him.

The gang moved into the living room. Joey and Mai sat next to eachother on the couch. Ryou and Yami sat next to them, and Kaiba sat by himself on the only rocking chair available. This left only the floor for Yugi and Bakura, so they sat next to eachother.

"Let's play something!" Joey offered. Bakura groaned, wishing that Yugi's gang was gone. Yugi placed a hand on Bakura's cheek. /It's only for a little while. Then the house will be all ours…/ Bakura pulled Yugi on his lap and nipped his ear. Yugi stifled his moan.

Joey ran to the shop and pulled off an old game from a shelf.

Yugi laughed. Bakura stared in confusion.

"Candy land?" Yugi, Ryou, and Kaiba confirmed.

"You can be such a child!" Mai said, but smiled.

Once Yami and Bakura were introduced to the rules, everyone played. Yugi won.

"You're still undefeated! Let's see what happens if Yugi doesn't play!" Joey was frustrated.

"You're just mad because you always lose." Seto and Mai commented simultaneously.

Yugi agreed to sit out the next game. Everyone played again.

"Damn, why'd I lose this time?" Joey frowned.

"You have bad luck." Bakura said quickly.

Joey commented, "You only won that time because you have Yugi's mojo or something now that you guys are together."

Bakura scoffed, "Is that even possible? If so, I want to play the pharaoh!"

Yugi laughed, and said, "No, it's impossible."

Bakura raised his eyebrows, now skeptical. "Let's test it! Pharaoh! Play with me, one-on-one!"

Yami rolled his eyes, but agreed. Yugi stared at him, dumbfounded. Yami just said, "What? It may actually be true, considering it makes sense. I just hope this doesn't mean I'll lose from now on."

Kaiba immediately stood up. "I'll play too if it means helping defeat the pharaoh."

Everybody laughed as the three played the game. It was like a duel, and once Bakura was close to the winning square, the intensity rose to an all-time high.

"Dammit! I lost to a thief!" Kaiba yelled, seething.

"Why'd I lose?" Yami frowned, then stared at Bakura. "I think…I agree with Joey on this one…"

Bakura just laughed, "Ahhh, that felt great…Thanks Yugi!"

Yugi ignored them and looked at the clock. Midnight. He yawned.

Bakura frowned. "Okay, everyone go home. You wore Yugi out. Now we can't do anything!"

Yami smiled, "Good!"

Bakura looked pissed, but Yugi held on to his arm and said, "Guys, I really am tired. Can you go home?"

"Sure." Everyone left, leaving the room very quiet.

Before Yugi had time to move, Bakura lifted him up bridal-style and carried him up the stairs. Yugi smiled, "I was so surprised when you told me you loved me…I never thought you'd feel the same as me…"

Bakura replied, "I thought the same thing…I'm glad you love me though…"

They reached the room. Yugi was already asleep in Bakura's arms. After Bakura effectively placed him in bed, he decided to sleep right next to his love.

/I love you./

*Next Day*

_ Beep, beep, beep. _

"Ahhh! What, what!" Bakura jolted awake, already in full panic mode.

Yugi groaned, "Just…alarm…five more minutes…" Yugi snuggled back into the covers and laced his fingers around Bakura's waist.

Bakura stood up, but Yugi—he looked asleep—had a strong grip on Bakura's shirt. "No…I don't want to go to school…" Yugi got up anyway. He walked down stairs and prepared some microwavable breakfast and went back up to his room, feeling more alert.

Bakura surprised him by standing right at the door. "You left without a kiss or anything!" Bakura complained. Yugi laughed, "Here you go. Good morning." They kissed. Bakura pulled him closer. Yugi broke away and Bakura just moved his lips to his neck.

"Kura, I gotta get ready for school. I can't be late…I've missed too much…" Yugi moaned.

"Fine…But you better not fall asleep tonight…" Bakura smirked evilly. Yugi rolled his eyes and was about to grab his backpack. A hand seized his arm.

"Just one more…" Bakura pulled Yugi back and kissed him again.

*Ten Minutes Later*

"Crap, I'm late!" Yugi ran out the door, yelling, "Bye Bakura!"

Bakura smiled, "See you later, Yugi."

**A/N: **_Hey guys! Well, I hope that ending wasn't horrible. I mean, it was happy, but I hope it was satisfying…I think I'm going to write a really long one-shot about these two soon…_

_Well, that is the end of the story!_

_Thanks to all the lovely reviews I got on this story! All of them made me incredibly happy, and I'm glad to hear what you think on the chapters, so really, __**Thank You!**_


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